Georgian President visits Armenia
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Monday, March 3
President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, visited Armenia with his first official visit. Within the two-day visit on February 27-28, Margvelashvili met with Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan.
Sargsyan and Margvelashvili, held a private meeting which was followed by extended-format negotiations with the participation of the two countries' delegation members.
Sargsyan welcomed the President of Georgia and expressed hope that Margvelashvili's first official visit to Armenia will give a new impulse to the cooperation between the two countries, as well as the friendship and brotherhood of the Armenian and Georgian people.
The Armenian people living in Georgia contribute significantly to the country’s development, said Margvelashvili in Yerevan. “Georgia is the meeting place of culture and freedom, where cultures develop within our region and we move in new directions,” Margvelashvili stated.
Margvelashvili praised his neighboring country and focused on the elements that have been uniting the two nations for years. “Georgia and Armenia have had relations lasting centuries and we are eager to develop this relationship even deeper. We discussed these opportunities,” Margvelashvili said.
Margvelashvili stressed that he has met with all the three countries that border Georgia - Turkey, Azerbaijan and now Armenia – so that Georgia continues preserving neighborly relations in the region.
"Traditionally, we pay the greatest importance to strengthening good neighborhood relations in the region. This will stimulate preserving the stability in the region,” Sargsyan said, adding that “one of the main directions of Armenia’s foreign policy is to further tighten its partnership with Georgia.”
Armenia’s president also said that the two countries have the same opinion in peacefully resolving conflicts and with the protection of international principles.
On the same day on February 27, Margvelashvili visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, laid a wreath at the memorial dedicated to the victims of the human catastrophe and paid tribute to the memory of the innocent victims and planted a tree at the Alley of Memory of the Memorial Complex.
The following day, the Chairperson of the National Assembly of Armenia, Hovik Abrahamyan hosted Margvelashvili. Accordingly to the president’s press centre, the sides touched on the issues relating to cooperation between Georgian and Armenian legislative governments by intensifying relations between the parliamentary friends groups.
Margvelashvili also paid visit to the Catholicos of Armenia, Karekin II, at the Holy Etchmiadzin. Following the meeting, Margvelashvili visited the Christian museum of cathedral treasure.
Also on that day, Margelashvili visited the family of Robert Abrahamyan, who lives in Etchmiadzin. In a chance meeting 27 years ago, the President met the musician in Armenia and they became life-long friends.
In a conversation with Armenpress, Political Scientist Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan stated that it is of a certain importance that the newly elected Georgian President decided to pay a visit to the Republic of Armenia along with the other countries. “This shows that the new Georgian government understands and realizes the significance of having good relations with Armenia for themselves,” Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan noted.
The political scientist also said that the fact that Armenia and Georgia have chosen different ways for economic development might cause some anxiety, but the two presidents said at the joint press conference that it will not hinder the development of bilateral economic relations, which according to Melik-Shahnazaryan is a quite serious and significant achievement.
