Saturday, 13 October 2012
Tigran Sargsyan: “The time is high for a closer interregional cooperation between Armenia and Russia”
The second Armenian-Russian interregional forum kicked off in Yerevan under the motto of “Armenia and Russia. Interregional Dialogue 2012.” The opening of the forum was attended by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Armenian-Russian economic commission Russian co-chair Maxim Sokolov and others.
Addressing the forum, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan expressed the hope that it will contribute to the strengthening of bilateral economic and humanitarian ties and the development of new initiatives.
“Armenia-Russia relations are of strategic partnership nature. Political and economic dialogue is on at all levels of public governance. The time is high for a closer interregional cooperation. Interregional dialogue is the focus of our forum. I feel we can learn a lot from each other. Continued dialogue can lead to the development of such mechanisms as may be conducive to the development of interregional cooperation. Therefore, we should think of furthering the ties in several sectors. We must not only maintain, but also strengthen the informational framework by building a regional market database, including supply and demand data, as well as business proposals and projects,” Tigran Sargsyan emphasized.
According to the head of government, it is necessary to carry out continuous monitoring of the market situation and submit appropriate recommendations for a given period in order to minimize bureaucratic, logistical and administrative risks that stem from inter-regional cooperation.
The Prime Minister reminded that a long-term economic cooperation program by the year 2020 was signed between Armenia and Russia on October 12 in the frame of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission.
“This is a systemic paper which envisages ambitious plans for a sharp growth in the level of bilateral trade and investments and encompasses all the areas of bilateral economic cooperation. I do believe that the regions should be instrumental in the development and implementation of joint action that can provide a solid framework work future dialogue.
The dialogue should result in practical actions aimed at our citizens’ well-being,” the Prime Minister noted.
Speaking about the principle of proportionate regional development, the Premier said the following fields of activity are set as priority areas by the government of Armenia: regional infrastructures, including roads, water supply systems, logistics centers and educational development.
“We will make efforts to ensure that living standards in the countryside are not inferior to the ones in urban settlements. Regional development centers are being built up to this end. We already have a techno-park in Gyumri to be followed by that of Vanadzor. In addition, Dilijan will grow into a financial and educational center. Our regions boast a great deal of untapped tourism potential. Armenia’s Soviet-era sanatoria are being transformed into major tourist centers, ready to host tourists from Russia,” Tigran Sargsyan said.
Crucial to the development of individual regions, logistics calls for daily attention as it links the two countries creating better opportunities for passenger and freight transportations. In addition, Tigran Sargsyan suggested considering the possibility of using the resource of the two countries’ chambers of commerce.
“It is not a secret for anyone that development implies establishment of new partnerships. We must walk down the path of development, including the establishment of trade ties between our regions and the striking of close ties of cooperation liaising different sectors of industry,” Tigran Sargsyan stated.
The Prime Minister of Armenia dwelt on the current state of the economy, the development dynamics and opportunities.
The conference is attended by delegates coming from the two countries' central and regional authorities, non-governmental organizations, representatives of business circles and 13 Russian regions, as well as delegations from Moscow and St. Petersburg. In addition to participating in the work of the conference, regional meetings were held with Armenian partners to discuss cooperation prospects. All the marzes of Armenia have sent their representatives to the forum.
A number of documents were signed on the sidelines of the conference, including cooperation agreements between Vaiots-Dzor (Armenia) and Arkhangelsk (Russia) regions, as well as between Lori marz of Armenia and South Caucasus Railways CJSC.
