Tuesday, 25 October 2005
Today RA Prime Minister A. Margaryan has received Head of Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria Levan Varshalomidze.
Having noted the need for restoration of the former close ties of cooperation between the two countries, both sides said to be satisfied at the recent activation of bilateral intercourse against the background of intensified regional exchanges. They stressed the availability of considerable potential for joint action that ought to be used more efficiently. Looking upon the recent growth of tourism from Armenia to Ajaria as a reflection of the above-said activity, the prime ministers stated the mutual advantage that could be drawn from the developing tourism as the Ajarian littoral - the Republic's chief economic asset - was more accessible to the citizens of Armenia. According to the interlocutors, that was possible through the efforts employed on the part of both the central authorities of Georgia and the new Ajarian cabinet. The head of the Ajarian government noted that since the settlement of the well-known intra-political differences, the central authorities had gone a long way towards the supporting the expansion of Batoumi port. In this context, he advised his counterpart of the privatization processes underway in the port infrastructures and went on to say that the Armenian business capital might well have a place of its own in the overall structure of Ajarian economy. He expressed himself for the promotion of closer ties of cooperation between the respective business circles, initiation of joint enterprises like an Armenian-Ajarian rehabilitation center in Batoumi, foe example. Mr. A. Margaryan emphasized the necessity of developing transportation routes. In particular, he stressed that Batoumi-Tbililsi-Yerevan railway line should be upgraded and air traffic resumed in support of the consolidated cooperation framework between Armenia and Ajaria. Levan Varshalomidze and A. Margaryan agreed that there were good prospects for the development of agricultural cooperation, in particular in the fields of tobacco production, citrus fruits processing etc.
At the close of the meeting, the two prime ministers reiterated once again their willingness of promoting the mutually advantageous cooperation along the lines set out in the political agreements reached between Armenia and Georgia.
