A Georgian delegation led by the speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, has arrived in Armenia on a working visit—and at the invitation of the speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Alen Simonyan.
The meeting between the speakers of the parliaments of the two countries in Dilijan, Armenia started with a private conversation, which was followed by an extended meeting, the NA of Armenia informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.
Welcoming his Georgian colleague, the speaker of the NA Armenia congratulated Georgia on getting the status of a European Union candidate country, and noted that this is an important event for the entire region.
Alen Simonyan emphasized that the deepening of relations with Georgia is of strategic importance for Armenia, and expressed hope that in the near future it will be possible to establish a strategic partnership between the two countries.
Reflecting on the productive cooperation between Armenia and Georgia in the economic sector, Simonyan highlighted the fact that the trade and economic ties between the two countries continue to increase. In this context, however, the speaker of the Armenian parliament spoke about the problems being encountered at the Upper Lars checkpoint—on the Georgian-Russian border—for various reasons, and stressed with satisfaction the efforts by the Georgian side aimed at facilitating the transit there. The speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, in turn, assured that quite positive processes have been carried out in that regard recently.
Alen Simonyan touched also upon regional security and challenges, and reaffirmed that Armenia remains committed to the agenda of establishing peace and stability in the region. And reflecting on the Crossroads of Peace project submitted by Armenia, he proposed Georgia to join this project.
"The high level of relations between Armenia and Georgia is one of the important factors of ensuring security in the South Caucasus. We highly appreciate Georgia's interest and efforts in establishing peace and stability in the region. The Georgian government's Peaceful Neighborhood Initiative is aimed at this very objective," stated the speaker of the Armenian legislature.
In addition, Alen Simonyan noted with satisfaction the continued development of the high-level Armenian-Georgian political dialogue, and touched upon their successful cooperation in the parliamentary format—also at the level of committees and friendship groups.
In the context of bilateral relations, the speaker of the NA of Armenia congratulated the two parties on the recent opening of the honorary consulate of Armenia in Rustavi, Georgia.
Expressing his gratitude for the invitation, Shalva Papuashvili emphasized with satisfaction the effectiveness of the bilateral parliamentary cooperation format. Possible new formats for strengthening cooperation between parliamentary committees and staffs of Armenia and Georgia were discussed.
Reflecting on regional matters, the speaker of the Parliament of Georgia stressed that they support the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which can be a guarantee of long-term stability and development in the region.
At the meeting, views were exchanged also on the immediate return of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan.
