Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday began her two-day visit to Armenia to meet with the neighboring country’s political leadership, including her counterpart Armen Sarkissian.
The two presidents met for talks in the Presidential Palace in Yerevan in the afternoon following a reception ceremony.
President Sarkissian told his Georgian counterpart that “the Armenian and Georgian peoples have a centuries-old history of friendship, which will surely continue in future generations.”
In his words, Armenian-Georgian cooperation in all spheres – from culture to science and modern technologies – has a huge potential for development and “everything needs to be done to make this cooperation deeper and more profitable.”
The official website of the Armenian president quoted the newly elected Georgian leader as noting that Sarkissian was the only president who attended her inauguration in December.
“It was a great honor for me. It was a sign of friendship between our two countries, which our society and I personally highly appreciate,” said Zourabichvili.
The president of Georgia said that the two nations “have a long way to go together, and it depends on them how they use the great potential in the region.”
Zourabichvili said that the two countries are united not only by geography, but also by the ethnic Armenian population of Georgia.
Before her meeting with President Sarkissian, at whose invitation she is visiting Armenia, the Georgian president visited the hilltop memorial to 1915 Armenian Genocide victims at Tsitsernakaberd, accompanied by Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian and Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutian.
Zourabichvili also met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on March 13.
During the meeting Pashinian stressed that at present there is a “historic opportunity” for raising Armenian-Georgian relations at a new level. Pashinian reminded that as prime minister he paid his first international visit to Georgia, which, he said, shows how great importance Armenia attaches to developing relations with its neighbor.
For her part, Zourabichvili stressed that Armenia and Georgia have a lot in common geographically and historically, share a common vision for the future and have a lot to do together.
While in Armenia the Georgian president is also expected to meet with Armenian Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan and supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin (Karekin) II.
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