ArmInfo. The fifth meeting of the Armenian-Czech intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation was held in Yerevan.
As reported by the press service of the RA Ministry of Economy, a delegation headed by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, co-chair of the Czech side of the Armenian-Czech Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation Martina Tauberova arrived in Yerevan to participate in the meeting. Armenian Deputy Minister of Economy Varos Simonyan is the co-chairman of the commission from the Armenian side.
During his welcoming speech at the opening of the meeting, Simoyan noted that a large number of reforms have been carried out in Armenia recently. He stressed Armenia's readiness to cooperate with the European Union, which is reflected in the Agreement on a comprehensive expanded partnership, while pointing out the importance of the Eastern Partnership program. The Deputy Minister of Economy noted that cooperation between Armenia and the Czech Republic needs to be raised to a new level and there is a great-untapped potential for this. He expressed the hope that joint efforts will be made in this direction, pragmatic steps will be taken, from which the citizens of both countries will benefit. "The Czech Republic is a serious partner for us. We will try to strengthen our relations, be more active. We should show the world that we can move from a consumer economy to a technological one," Simonyan said.
In turn, Tauberova stressed that Armenia is an important partner of the Czech Republic in this region, and there is an interest in expanding cooperation, using all the possibilities. She noted with satisfaction that thanks to the work of the commission, a good schedule for further actions has been formed, they need to be implemented. The Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic called on the members of the commission, the ambassadors, in good faith to seek the implementation of all points of the protocol of the fifth meeting. Speaking about the areas of cooperation, she noted that in addition to the traditional areas in which cooperation will continue, it is necessary to develop cooperation in areas with high added value, using the intellectual potential of the two countries, using the latest technologies. The Czech minister highlighted health, energy, e-government and green agriculture as areas with great potential for cooperation.
During the meeting, a wide range of trade and economic issues was discussed: cooperation in the fields of energy, industry, transport, agriculture, education, science, digitalization, environment and nature protection, tourism, social security and health care, territorial administration, small and medium-sized businesses, standardization, certification and conformity assessment and the prospects for expanding interaction.
The importance of stimulating cooperation with the private sector, providing preferential terms for doing business, creating industrial parks and joint ventures was emphasized.
At the end of the event, chairpersons of the Armenian-Czech part of the commission Varos Vimonyan and Martina Tauberova signed the minutes of the fifth meeting.
To recall, on October 14 Martina Tauberova met with RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan. According to the RA Statistical Committee, the foreign trade turnover between Armenia and the Czech Republic in January-August 2021 amounted to $ 15.3 million, which is 5% less than in the same period last year (in January-August 2020 it amounted to $ 16.0 million ). Exports from Armenia to the Czech Republic in January-August 2021 amounted to $ 2.1 million, which is 40% more than in the same period last year ($ 1.5 million in January-August 2020). Imports from the Czech Republic to Armenia in January-August by country of origin amounted to USD 13.2 million, which is 9% less compared to the same period last year (in January-August 2020 it amounted to USD 14.5 million). According to the Agency of the State Register of Legal Entities of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia, as of March 31, 2021, 37 enterprises with the participation of Czech capital (including private enterprises) are registered in the RA.
