PRIME MINISTERS SIGN DOCUMENTS
Support A1+!Armenia's Prime Minister Serzh Sarkissian received the Russian delegation headed by Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov.
During the meeting PM Serzh Sarkissian noted that Viktor Zubkov’s official visit to Armenia will become a new impetus for the development of Armenian-Russian relations, reinforcement and deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Viktor Zubkov conveyed the greetings of the Russian President and thanked for the invitation and warm reception.
The meeting of the Prime Ministers was followed by consultations in an extended format, during which the delegations of the two parties discussed a broad framework of issues related to Armenian-Russian cooperation in different spheres.
Expressing appreciation for the bilateral cooperation and the development of relations, Serzh Sarkissian and Viktor Zublov underlined that those are promoted by the warm friendly relations between the Presidents of the two states. The interlocutors especially emphasized the achievements in the field of economy: the volumes of commodity turnover, and the increase of Russian investments into Armenian economy. The parties stated, however, that the trade-economic relations still have a great potential for development. According to RA Prime Minister, the high level of political relations between the two countries demands to reach more in the filed of economic cooperation. In this context the parties attached importance to the productive work of the Armenian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation.
After the meeting a number of documents were signed between the Governments of the two countries. Prime Ministers gave a joint press conference after the meeting.
According to the Armenian PM Armenia and Russia intend to have the commodity turnover reach $1 billion. He noted that the Armenian-Russian commodity turnover reached $700 million at the end of 2007, and there is the opportunity to cross the margin of $1 billion. Transport communication is the only obstacle on the way of increasing the volume of trade between the two countries, and the transfer of the “Armenian Railway”
Company to the trust management of the Russian side will have a considerable influence on the volume of work envisaged for the future. In this context Serzh Sarkissian noted that an agreement has been reached on the supply of construction materials for the preparation of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov informed that an agreement has been signed on cooperation in the fields of information technologies and trade. An intergovernmental agreement has been signed on Armenia’s participation in the activity of the International Centre of Uranium Enrichment.
Viktor Zublkov declared that Russia remains the leading economic partner of Armenia. He noted that Russia is simultaneously the main foreign investor in Armenia. The Russian Prime Minister expressed the opinion that joint investment programs are rather successful, especially in the fields of nuclear energy, jewelry, and communications.
