War was a complex challenge, but I believe it will turn into a new opportunity: Garibashvili to Pashinyan

High-level Armenian-Georgian talks have concluded in Tbilisi under the leadership of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

The government’s press service reports that the two prime ministers met with representatives of the media and made statements summarizing the results of the talks.

In his address, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili referred to Armenian-Georgian bilateral cooperation as well as the recent war in Artsakh. He stated, “Mr. Prime Minister, members of the delegation, I welcome you all. I welcome my friend, my partner, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. It is a great honor for me to host him in Georgia. Once again, I congratulate Mr. Prime Minister on winning the elections. This is, of course, a good opportunity for a new era to begin for Armenia and the Armenian people.

I have become acquainted with Mr. Prime Minister's new vision, which is solely focused on development—on the sustainable development of his country and the well-being of the Armenian people. Certainly, the Nagorno-Karabakh war was a complex challenge for our region, but now, being familiar with Mr. Prime Minister’s new vision, I believe that this challenge will turn into a new opportunity. An opportunity that will bring prosperity to Armenia and the Armenian people.

I also want to emphasize that, of course, the stability of Armenia is of great importance to us—both politically and economically—and this is directly related to the stability of our country and the entire region.

Accordingly, I would encapsulate our common regional goal in three words: peace, stability, and prosperity, which unite all three countries in our region. Georgia has always been a proponent of peaceful cooperation and coexistence in the South Caucasus. We proved this some time ago; a few months ago, we were given the opportunity, with my mediation and Mr. Prime Minister’s direct participation and desire, as well as the efforts of the President of Azerbaijan, to achieve success among the leaders of the three countries concerning the return of Armenian prisoners and the transfer of maps to Azerbaijan. This successful precedent gives us a chance for optimism.

I once again assured the Prime Minister of my willingness for Georgia to continue its active mediating role to restore the trust that is very important and a fundamental basis for our further cooperation. We are ready to discuss new ideas for cooperation, new projects. Of course, we discussed issues related to the economy, trade, transport, and communication. This included discussions on major projects proposed by the Prime Minister. We talked about tourism, energy, culture, and education. These are the topics that we discussed today and on which we have complete alignment.

I also want to mention that our country has interesting transit potential. This is what we deliberated on. All the potential that our countries possess should be fully utilized and harnessed.

Furthermore, in a region where there have been numerous conflicts over the past 30 years and where there are still issues to resolve, our shared vision and effort should be to gradually transform this region into one of new opportunities for development and peace. This should be our primary vision, and we will continue to work in that direction.

Once again, I express my gratitude to Mr. Prime Minister for his arrival. It is a great honor for us, and I am pleased to host him,” said the Georgian Prime Minister.