Friday, 26 June 2015
Hovik Abrahamyan, Maxim Sokolov Make Statements for Press
Following the meeting of the Armenian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, Armenian co-chair, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan and Russian co-chair, RF Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov made statements for the press.
Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan stated in part, “We have just completed the proceedings of the 16th meeting of the Armenian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation. We signed the protocol of the meeting, which summarizes the work performed by the Commission in the aftermath of the 15th session and the main directions of our cooperation in the near future.
During the meeting, we discussed a wide range of issues of the Armenian-Russian strategic cooperation and outlined practical directions for the development of our allied partnership. The agenda covered economy, energy, transportation, agriculture, health, education, science, culture and many other areas.
I would highlight the joint effort made toward expanding the existing legal framework that made it possible to sign an intergovernmental agreement earlier this year, which regulates issues related to the financing of work on extension of the Armenian nuclear power plant’s operations.
As usual, the meeting was held in an atmosphere of collaboration and mutual understanding. We positively assess the work done and the agreements reached, which mostly have a direct practical significance for the economies and businesses of our two countries. I hope that the agreements will be successfully implemented.”
In turn, Mr. Sokolov said: “I would like to once again thank Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan who is my colleague as the Armenian co-chair of the Commission, as well as all the participants for their constructive and effective cooperation.
As part of the Armenian-Russian cooperation program, we held today the 16th meeting of the intergovernmental commission. The Commission’ work is not merely limited to dynamic and productive meetings. In fact, work is on every day and all year round.
Last year, when the Republic of Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union, we were able to see what opportunities might open up in the format of bilateral relations. This applies to all areas of economic cooperation, including trade cooperation.
While bilateral trade turnover has slightly decreased as compared to the year 2014, it should be noted that we faced a backdrop in arithmetic terms; in absolute terms, it has not decreased considering the fall in energy prices on the international marketplace. This is true for all the affected areas: transport, energy, investment, etc. During the past year, several enterprises with Russian capital started operations in Armenia. Investment keeps coming, which clearly points to the high level of our relations.
Any question raised by the Armenian or the Russian side is given due consideration and gets a positive and constructive solution, as a rule. Therefore, reiterating my vote of thanks for all those who are promoting such a friendly and mutual cooperation, I wish we could actively develop our economies in the framework of integration processes to the benefit of our countries and peoples.”
