Armenian president, Georgian PM discuss projects in Javakheti region

Mediamax news agency, Armenia
Sept 30 2005

Armenian president, Georgian premier discuss projects in ethnic
Armenian region

Yerevan, 30 September: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and
Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli today discussed in Yerevan
the social and economic situation in [Georgia’s] Samtskhe-Javakheti,
populated mainly by Armenians.

Zurab Noghaideli told the Armenian president that the Georgian
government was planning to implement in Samtskhe-Javakheti a
five-year programme for the maintenance of roads, the [Armenian]
presidential press service told Mediamax news agency. These funds
will be allocated by the American Fund Millennium Challenge and
partially from the Georgian budget.

Zurab Noghaideli also said that the Georgian government intended to
implement educational programmes for the Armenian-speaking population
and take an active part in the construction of school in
Samtskhe-Javakheti.

Speaking about an outcome of the meeting of the Armenian-Georgian
intergovernment commission, Zurab Noghaideli said that the sides had
managed to find mutually acceptable solutions almost on all issues.

The Armenian president and the Georgian prime minister discussed new
opportunities for exporting Armenian electricity to Georgia. Robert
Kocharyan spoke of the importance of cooperation in the energy sphere
which, he said, could become a real programme for regional
cooperation.

Given an increase of mutual trips of Armenian and Georgian citizens
and tendencies of developing tourism, Robert Kocharyan and Zurab
Noghaideli noted the importance of creating new transport
possibilities. In particular, they spoke about the opening of
Yerevan-Tbilisi and Yerevan-Batumi direct flights and establishing
railway communications from Yerevan to Batumi.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress