Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who chaired the 12^th meeting of the Georgia-Armenia Intergovernmental Economic Commission together with his Armenian colleague Nikol Pashinyan, said the Commission is “an important platform for strengthening the economic, trade, transport, and cultural ties between our countries.”

The PM stated that Georgia-Armenia “enjoy centuries-old good neighborly relations and brotherhood,” claiming that today’s meeting “will be another step toward the economic progress of our countries, the introduction of innovations, and advancement. And all this can only be achieved in the conditions of peace and regional stability.”

Garibashvili noted that in January-November 2022, “our trade turnover grew by about 70% to exceed 1 billion USD, which is indeed a commendable outcome, and Armenia became Georgia’s 6^th largest trade partner, taking 6^th spot among the top 10, which we find quite gratifying.”

“In addition, I would like to say that we have a positive dynamic across all directions, be it tourism, shipments, freight turnover-growing indicators are recorded in every direction.

Mister Prime Minister, Dear Members of the Commission, I also want to emphasize that our government and our country, our people, are interested in lasting peace in the region. To this end, I would like to reiterate that we have an initiative on creating a peaceful neighborhood platform. Of course, this format will not replace other formats or other initiatives. On the contrary, I believe that it will help and further strengthen opportunities for establishing lasting peace and stability in the region, because it is impossible to achieve long-term economic advancement and prosperity for our people without peace and stability. Also, I would like to thank the members of the commission from both countries. Very productive work has been carried out by the governments of both countries,” the PM stressed.