A conference titled Armenia and Georgia: Potential for Cooperation was held on March 24, 2016 at the Noravank Foundation. Leading experts both from the Foundation and those invited from various government structures made presentations at the conference. The event was attended by politicians, public figures, journalists and students interested in the topic of Armenian-Georgian relationship.

 

Gagik Harutyunyan, Executive Director of the Noravank Foundation addressed the participants with welcome and opening remarks, sharing his vision of the potential to deepen Armenian-Georgian relations, and the moral/cultural foundation of cooperation between the two nations.

 

The first presentation on Prospects of Developing Mutual Economic Relations between Georgia and Neighboring Countries was made by Armen G. Navasardyan, Chairman, Department of World Politics and International Relations, Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. He presented the current state of trade and economic affairs between Georgia and neighboring countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia). He also reviewed issues of Georgian-Iranian relations in the light of lifting international sanctions on Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

In his presentation Prospects of Energy Cooperation of Armenia and Georgia, Armen Manvelyan, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Science of Armenia, examined matters of regional energy security systems functioning , the role of great powers in energy geopolitics of Caucasus-Caspian region, as well as prospects of regional cooperation in general, and between Armenia and Georgia in particular. He also reviewed the new realities in areas of energy and security in the context of Iran’s reinvigorated activities in South Caucasus.

 

The issues of Georgia’s policy forming and development were discussed in a presentation Foreign Policy of Georgia and Its Domestic Political Dimension by Johnny Melikyan, Research Fellow, Center for Regional Studies of Public Administration Academy of the RoA. Using the main doctrinal documents of Georgia and the political programs of ruling parties, the expert spoke about Georgia’s foreign policy and its main vector: the Euro-Atlantic Integration. Also, he drew parallels between foreign policy ideology and internal political processes, as well as exposed the correlations between those. The analyst reviewed the policy of official Tbilisi in relation to neighboring countries and reactions to it within the country from actors of internal policy processes.

 

Another speaker, Anushavan Barseghyan, Expert Consultant of the Centre for Political Studies, Noravank Foundation, made a presentation Soft Power of Azerbaijan in Georgia: Creation and Main Objectives. He examined the current status of Georgian-Azerbaijani relations, Georgia’s cooperation with Azerbaijan and Turkey in trilateral format. The expert addressed the issues of Azerbaijan’s “soft power” formation in Georgia, mechanisms of its implementation and main objectives, among which he pointed out the minimization of the role of Armenians and activities of Armenian organizations in Georgia.

 

An invited expert, Roman Karapetyan, PhD in History, Assistant Professor, Chair of International Relations and Diplomacy, Yerevan State University made a presentation titled Regional Conflicts and Issues of Maintaining Mutual Neutrality in the Agenda of Armenian-Georgian Dialog. He spoke about standpoints of the two countries concerning regional conflicts, differences in these standpoints and conflicting actions on international arena. In addition, he noted the necessity to maintain mutual neutrality with regard to the existing conflicts in the region, as well as to consider the possibility of participating in settlement of the conflicts as a next issue of primary importance.

 

Karen Veranyan, Senior Expert at the Centre for Political Studies, Noravank Foundation, delivered a presentation titled Rating of Georgia in Science and Education: A Comparative Analysis, which included statistical of Georgia in science and R&D, ranking data in comparison with neighboring countries and South Caucasus states.

 

The last report, Armenian and Georgian Communities Abroad: Areas of Comparison and Prospects of Cooperation, was made by Vahram Hovyan, Senior Expert at the Centre for Armenian Studies, Noravank Foundation. He explored the specifics of Armenian and Georgian communities in foreign countries, uncovered their principal differences, as well as approaches of the governments of both countries, in particular, the cooperation policies of the ministries for diaspora. The expert also pointed out the potential issues and areas of their cooperation in Europe and Russian federation.

 

At the end of the event active discussions and exchange of opinions took place in relation to all matters that the speakers addressed during the conference.

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