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The Messenger, Georgia
May 5 2011
Means and opportunities for cooperation across the Georgia-Armenia border
By Salome Modebadze Thursday, May 5
Lack of information on trade opportunities and import/export
proceŽdures, cumbersome customs proceŽdures, language barriers and few
platforms of interaction between the officials and communities are
major factors impeding cross-border cooperation between Georgia and
Armenia. A workshop held in Tbilisi on May 3 with the participation of
Georgian and Armenian civil society actors, local self-governance
officials and representatives of international organizations attempted
to identify means and opportunities for forging the cross-border links
further.
The workshop came as a half way through a study tour which CARE
International in the Caucasus organized on May 2-4 under the project
Poverty Reduction and Confidence-building in Border Areas of Georgia
and Armenia by Strengthening Civil Societies in Sustainable Rural
Development (STAGE II) . The project is funded by the Austrian
Development Cooperation (ADC). Over 15 Armenian visitors arrived to
participate in the event.
As Anthony Foreman, STAGE II project Director of told The Messenger,
the project attempts to create conditions in which the sides can find
out more about each other and identify the areas in which they may
cooperate. `Obviously one of the products of this kind of work is to
identify the information of what types of problems actually exist on
the cross-national level. It's a very narrow but targeted issue and we
expect high quality results,' Foreman stated.
Emphasizing the clear need for cooperation in sharing information,
CARE with its partner NGOs plans to identify these problems and find
out what the partner organizations can do within the advocacy
campaign. `Our first priority is to see which problems the NGOs are
able to assist through delivering information, and then after that
define the problems with decision-makers at the high level,' he told
us.
In the frames of the study tour, Members of the Armenian delegation
met with Georgian government officials and partner civil society
organizations, to attend the Tbilisi Economic Forum organized by
Tbilisi City Hall, visit food processing and cheese factories in
Marneuli (Kvemo Kartli) and in Tsnisi (Samtskhe-Javakheti), a rural
advisory service centre established with the support of CARE in
Aspindza (Samtskhe-Javakheti), a bio-farm of project target
association in Akhalkalaki (Samtskhe-Javakheti).
Suggesting creation of networks uniting civil and municipal societies
and NGOs advocating the Georgian-Armenian cooperation, the sides
agreed that NGOs can be the basis for raising awareness among the two
nations through their flexible projects and serve as `bridges
connecting new ideas.' David Melua Executive Director of the National
Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) offered the local
NGOs to schedule their annual activities and discuss their plans with
local municipalities. `Georgian-Armenian friendship has started
centuries ago and we have to do everything to increase our cooperation
and ignore the borders,' Melua stated.
As part of the study tour, the participants also met with Van Baiburt,
Adviser of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Speaking about the
initiative in general Mr. Baiburt welcomed such cooperation and spoke
of Georgia as the `mediator in the South Caucasus.' Wishing he could
also have seen Azeri guests at the meeting Baiburt told The Messenger
that friendship among the high-rank authorities can't be strengthened
without cooperation between the `tiniest players.' Hoping that this
tour would become the starting point for implementing large-scale
activities the President's Adviser said this meeting would become the
"basis for tomorrow's fine weather".
From: A. Papazian
May 5 2011
Means and opportunities for cooperation across the Georgia-Armenia border
By Salome Modebadze Thursday, May 5
Lack of information on trade opportunities and import/export
proceŽdures, cumbersome customs proceŽdures, language barriers and few
platforms of interaction between the officials and communities are
major factors impeding cross-border cooperation between Georgia and
Armenia. A workshop held in Tbilisi on May 3 with the participation of
Georgian and Armenian civil society actors, local self-governance
officials and representatives of international organizations attempted
to identify means and opportunities for forging the cross-border links
further.
The workshop came as a half way through a study tour which CARE
International in the Caucasus organized on May 2-4 under the project
Poverty Reduction and Confidence-building in Border Areas of Georgia
and Armenia by Strengthening Civil Societies in Sustainable Rural
Development (STAGE II) . The project is funded by the Austrian
Development Cooperation (ADC). Over 15 Armenian visitors arrived to
participate in the event.
As Anthony Foreman, STAGE II project Director of told The Messenger,
the project attempts to create conditions in which the sides can find
out more about each other and identify the areas in which they may
cooperate. `Obviously one of the products of this kind of work is to
identify the information of what types of problems actually exist on
the cross-national level. It's a very narrow but targeted issue and we
expect high quality results,' Foreman stated.
Emphasizing the clear need for cooperation in sharing information,
CARE with its partner NGOs plans to identify these problems and find
out what the partner organizations can do within the advocacy
campaign. `Our first priority is to see which problems the NGOs are
able to assist through delivering information, and then after that
define the problems with decision-makers at the high level,' he told
us.
In the frames of the study tour, Members of the Armenian delegation
met with Georgian government officials and partner civil society
organizations, to attend the Tbilisi Economic Forum organized by
Tbilisi City Hall, visit food processing and cheese factories in
Marneuli (Kvemo Kartli) and in Tsnisi (Samtskhe-Javakheti), a rural
advisory service centre established with the support of CARE in
Aspindza (Samtskhe-Javakheti), a bio-farm of project target
association in Akhalkalaki (Samtskhe-Javakheti).
Suggesting creation of networks uniting civil and municipal societies
and NGOs advocating the Georgian-Armenian cooperation, the sides
agreed that NGOs can be the basis for raising awareness among the two
nations through their flexible projects and serve as `bridges
connecting new ideas.' David Melua Executive Director of the National
Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) offered the local
NGOs to schedule their annual activities and discuss their plans with
local municipalities. `Georgian-Armenian friendship has started
centuries ago and we have to do everything to increase our cooperation
and ignore the borders,' Melua stated.
As part of the study tour, the participants also met with Van Baiburt,
Adviser of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Speaking about the
initiative in general Mr. Baiburt welcomed such cooperation and spoke
of Georgia as the `mediator in the South Caucasus.' Wishing he could
also have seen Azeri guests at the meeting Baiburt told The Messenger
that friendship among the high-rank authorities can't be strengthened
without cooperation between the `tiniest players.' Hoping that this
tour would become the starting point for implementing large-scale
activities the President's Adviser said this meeting would become the
"basis for tomorrow's fine weather".
From: A. Papazian