Following their private meeting, the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Georgia summed up the talks in a joint statement for media representatives.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia:
“Greetings to the Prime Minister of Armenia. It is a great honor for me to have the opportunity to host you in Tbilisi, in Georgia. As you may know, the friendly relations between our countries go far back in history, and we must work every day to make our cooperation even more effective.

Mr. Prime Minister, first of all, I would like to thank you for the warm welcome we enjoyed during my visit to Yerevan. I am confident that today’s visit will prove even more effective in terms of making the citizens of our countries more developed in both economic and security terms.

Today, we talked about the furtherance of our good neighborly and friendly relations. We touched upon security, culture, education, economy and outlined plans to upgrade the bilateral relations.

The Georgian side highlighted the democratization process in our region as a means to promote economic and cultural exchanges. We noted that the decision to join the Euro-Atlantic alliance was made by Georgian citizens, and we will abide by that policy line. Despite our countries’ different foreign policy orientations, we agreed that there can be no other plane on this issue, and emphasized that democracy will raise the effectiveness of cooperation in terms of trade turnover, transit routes, culture, etc.

We welcome Georgia’s active involvement in the Eastern Partnership and believe that this is the direction in which our countries should cooperate effectively.

Mr. Prime Minister, thank you again for your visit. Welcome to Tbilisi, and I am sure that we will effectively use these two days in the best interest of our citizens.”

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan:
“Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
Dear media representatives,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of all members of the Armenian delegation and on my own behalf, I wish to thank Prime Minister Gakharia for the invitation and a warm welcome. I am happy about this opportunity to meet with friends.

I have repeatedly stated that the development of relationship with Georgia is a key foreign policy priority for Armenia. I am more than convinced that there are all necessary prerequisites for this. Indeed, dating back to centuries and underpinned by shared values and a common heritage, our friendship provides a solid groundwork for interaction.

I am pleased to note that new factors have emerged that make our friendship tighter and strengthen our drive for cooperation. First of all, I mean our two peoples’ common vision about the future based on irreversible democratic values, which has become our credo.

Indeed, the triumph of democracy and the establishment of the rule of law have opened up new horizons for closer and multifaceted cooperation between our two countries.

Today’s negotiations followed up the discussions launched in Yerevan last October. We stated with satisfaction that the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission met in Yerevan last June after a long break.

We touched on the need for the consistent implementation of promising projects in the transport, energy sectors and other fields. The importance of developing our transit potential was emphasized on either side. We addressed not only the road network, but also electricity and telecommunications.

We came up with a set of cooperation proposals related to high technology, education and science. The importance of strengthening ties between youth was emphasized. Also, we agreed to take steps to strengthen ties between civil society organizations.

We next touched on regional security and peace. Undoubtedly, the Armenian-Georgian partnership is a key pledge for stability in our region. Coming to regional concerns, I want to express my conviction that the only way to resolve them goes through dialogue and talks. I am also convinced that each conflict has its own peculiarities, and in this regard, I suggest abiding by a balanced position on sensitive issues.

In the context of Armenian-Georgian brotherly relations, I would like to highlight the significant contribution that the Armenians have made in Georgia. We are grateful for the consistent steps taken by Georgian authorities in a bid to safeguard the national identity, cultural and spiritual heritage of Georgia-based Armenians.

Wrapping up my remarks, I would like to reiterate the importance of reciprocated high-level contacts and once again thank my Georgian counterpart for granting my delegation a top-level welcome.”

In conclusion, noting that Mother’s Day was being celebrated in Georgia, Nikol Pashinyan congratulated all Georgian mothers on the occasion.