Exclusive interview of the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Vera Kobalia, to Mediamax following her visit to Armenia on November 7-8.

- Ms. Kobalia, this is your first visit to Armenia, so let me congratulate you on this occasion. What was the main agenda of discussions with your Armenian partners?

- Thank you. Yes, it was really my first visit to Armenia and it was very interesting and cognitive. I think it was another step forward in the context of our bilateral relations. Though, I have met with some Armenian colleagues before too. For example, I last met with the Armenian Minister of Transport in May within the framework of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig.

It was very important to meet here in Yerevan and discuss concrete projects existing between our countries. Armenia and Georgia are very close countries, they have many joint projects, particularly in the sphere of transportation and many other sectors of the economy. First of all, we discussed the forthcoming visit of the Armenian Prime Minister to Tbilisi, where the session of the bilateral intergovernmental commission is due to be held on November 18-19. The two countries’ prime ministers are also scheduled to meet in Tbilisi and discuss current economic projects and new directions.

During the meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, we also discussed the sphere of tourism. You know that many Armenians come to Georgia’s Black Sea coast in various seasons, especially in summer. I suggested uniting the efforts of our countries to jointly advertise our region for the Western markets. I mean, we have to come up with common tour packages, including Armenia and Georgia, for Western countries.

- What was the reaction of the Armenian side to this proposal?

- The Armenian side was interested and the Prime Minister instructed to get started in this direction. I think the next step should be the discussion of concrete details between two countries’ travel agencies. We have discussed the issue of attracting foreign investments to our region with the Minister of Economy of Armenia. Let’s be objective: Georgia and Armenia are small countries by the number of population, size and market, and the interests of foreign companies are often conditioned particularly by the number of consumers. This is why our work will be more effective if we unite out efforts in some directions.

- In what spheres is the bilateral economic cooperation on a proper level and what areas need to be bolstered?

- We have very good relations on the level of governmental structures. The relations between our presidents and prime ministers are as strong as possible. I think Armenian-Georgian relations are the evidence of how well the relations between the two neighboring states may develop. At the same time, I think the Armenian and Georgian business sectors have big opportunities which are not used to the full extent yet. We have brilliant examples of Armenian-Georgian companies working on the territory of two countries. I can bring an example of a mushroom-producing company working in Georgia on the basis of Armenian-Georgian investments. If a year ago Georgia imported the mushrooms, today due to this company we completely provide the market and export mushrooms to other markets. This is a very positive example of how the common Armenian-Georgian business might become very effective.

- You’ve said Georgia has an interesting proposal for Armenian investors - a program within which Georgia offers free of charge lands on the Black Sea coast for the construction of hotels and exempts from paying taxes for 15 years.

- This proposal was open to everyone. If you visit Kobuleti in summer, you’ll see how many Armenian tourists come to spend their vacations there. I think the Armenian construction companies and travel agencies should be interested in making investments in Kobuleti. When a tourist sees that the investments have come from his country, he becomes more interested in the given hotel.

- Was this proposal officially presented to the Armenian side?

- Yes, the proposal was officially made to the Armenian side. We had an investment forum today (November 8th), which aroused big interest among the business-society.  Our proposal is indeed very interesting, but it is not everlasting, of course, as there is a limited number of  land plots on the Black Sea coast. The project is divided into several phases - the coast areas and those far from the coast.

- In the last period, people in Armenia often talk about the outflow of the Armenian capital to Georgia. What is your opinion?

- Your colleague asked me the same question about half a year ago in Kazakhstan. And when we looked at the numbers we saw that there were no big volumes at all. I think there are more rumors than concrete facts.

- And the last question that my young colleague with very big ambitions asked me to ask you.  How does it feel to be a minister at 29?

- Well, I am already 30 (smiling). How does it feel to be a minister? I guess, it feels the same as at the age of 40, 50 or 70. It is a very big chance to participate in the development of your own country. The advantage of my age is that I have enough energy to work overtime, even till late at night or on weekends. My colleagues will confirm that we are working 7 days a week, because we want to develop the economy of our country as fast as possible. So, it’s tough and nice at the same times.

Mediamax’s Aram Araratyan talked to Vera Kobalia.