Republican Party of Armenia

 Armenia-Russia intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation held its 14th session in the Government Guest House Prior to the start of an enlarged sitting, commission co-chairs Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Russian Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov met in a narrow format.

Welcoming the participants, the Prime Minister congratulated Maxim Sokolov for appointment to the post of Russian Co-chair. Tigran Sargsyan noted that the commission faces great responsibility in terms of maintaining and expanding the potential of bilateral cooperation.

“I am confident that our joint efforts and cooperation will boost afresh the strategic partnership between our two nations. Economic cooperation between our two countries is of systemic relevance to Armenia’s economy as it stands for an economic locomotive. In this context, we attach great importance to the work of the commission and stand ready to make every effort to promote effective work,” the Prime Minister stated.

Pointing to the growth in the Armenian-Russian economic relations, Tigran Sargsyan said that Armenia’s trade turnover with Russia has increased by 23% to USD 880mn over the first eight months of the current year as compared to the same period last year. The imports from Russia rose 17 percent to USD 640 million during the same period.

According to the Prime Minister, special attention needs to be given to the 50% increase to USD 168mn in the exports of Armenian goods and services during the first eight months of 2012 as compared to the same period in 2011. “This is an important growth factor for Armenia’s economy,” the head of government said.

In this context, Tigran Sargsyan highlighted the establishment of free economic zones in the territories of Russian Sitronics-owned RAO Mars CJSC and the Yerevan Research Institute of Mathematical Machines (YCRDI).

In the Premier’s opinion, these programs lead the way in the ongoing bilateral cooperation in the fields of high technologies and innovations: “These programs are a key component of Armenia-Russia economic cooperation, and I am sure they will outline future trends in the development of bilateral relations,” Tigran Sargsyan emphasized.

In turn, Russian co-chair Maxim Sokolov expressed satisfaction with the work done so far: “I wish to emphasize that there is a consensus on all the agenda items, which greatly contributes to the bilateral economic, cultural and other spheres. I believe that the mutual economic interest-based centuries-old friendship is behind the success,” Maxim Sokolov noted.

The meeting discussed and adopted decisions concerning the implementation of the protocol adopted at the commission’s 13th session which was held last year, the current status of the existing legal framework, the trade and economic relations, the cooperation in the fields of transport, communications and information technologies, agriculture and humanitarian sector.

In conclusion, Tigran Sargsyan and Maxim Sokolov signed a long-term program of economic cooperation between Armenia and Russia up till 2020, as well as the protocol of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission’s 14th session.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan stressed the importance of the program as to the further development of economic relations between Armenia and Russia.