The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk and Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan.
23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia
23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia. Alexey Overchuk and Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan
23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia
The regular, 23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia was held in Moscow, under the joint chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk and Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan.
The parties summed up the results of bilateral cooperation in the trade and economic sphere, energy, industry, transport, agriculture, finance, healthcare, culture, science, interregional cooperation, education and tourism.
“Our trade and economic ties continue to be on the rise. Mutual trade between Russia and Armenia, according to data for 10 months of 2024, amounted to $10.2 billion. This is more than double the same figure last year,” noted Alexey Overchuk, emphasizing that in order to carry out trade and economic relations, the countries almost completely switched to payments in national currencies – the share of the Russian ruble in mutual settlements reached 96.3%.
The Russian Federation is one of the main investors in the Armenian economy. Investments in industrial projects in the Republic of Armenia reached $3.4 billion. More than 40 large Russian companies operate in Armenia, some of them are the largest taxpayers to the state budget.
“In addition to direct investment, Eurasian development institutions are also actively working,” said the Deputy Prime Minister. “Active work is underway here, including to support the “Crossroads of the World” initiative, which was put forward by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Vovaevich Pashinyan.”
The Chairman of the Russian part of the commission also noted that in July 2024, with the assistance of Russian Railways, the railway between Armenia and Georgia, damaged by flood, was quickly restored – the only railway connecting Armenia with the outside world, which is an important delivery channel vital cargo to Armenia.
“All these investments and projects are being implemented with the aim of strengthening connectivity in the Eurasian region and the South Caucasus, in particular, integrating Armenia into new value chains emerging in Eurasia and realizing the transport and logistics potential that the Republic of Armenia has, with constant respect for its sovereignty and jurisdiction,” said Alexey Overchuk in his speech.
As part of the work of the Eurasian development institutions, the Deputy Prime Minister also noted the implementation of a project to modernize irrigation systems: mechanical irrigation has been replaced by gravity, which provides annual energy savings. 5 main and 22 inter-farm canals have been restored. Work on the restoration and construction of on-farm irrigation systems in 105 settlements of the Republic of Armenia has been completed.
“Two weeks ago, our specialists agreed to assess the technical condition of eight bridges damaged by floods in Lori and Tavush. All work will be completed as soon as possible; we expect that by the end of the year, their results will be transferred to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
During the meeting, the active development of cooperation in the humanitarian sphere was emphasized.
“Today we are signing an intergovernmental Agreement on the conditions of activity of the Russian-Armenian University in the Republic of Armenia. This is one of the leading universities in Armenia, with more than 5 thousand students studying 123 educational programs, 80 of which are taught according to Russian educational standards,” emphasized the Deputy Prime Minister.
The university’s scientific and teaching staff includes 82 doctors and 332 candidates of science. The structure of the university includes 9 institutes, 31 departments and 12 laboratories.
The university cooperates with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, the Institute of System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and other Russian scientific centers. Research projects are implemented in such areas as bioinformatics, genomic research, quantum nanophotonics, biochemistry and biotechnology.
Work continues to provide the opportunity to receive education according to Russian standards in the educational and sports complex, which includes a school for 700 students, built in Yerevan as part of the Gazprom for Children social program.
The countries pay great attention to cooperation in the field of culture. Since 2023, a program to support Russian theaters abroad has been implemented, within the framework of which the Yerevan State Russian Drama Theater named after Stanislavsky was provided with financial assistance for the purchase of stage equipment and the creation of new productions based on works of Russian classics. The Moscow Parajanov Theater, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Culture and the Cultural Center of the Armenian Embassy in Russia, held a large-scale festival “Parajanov Fest”.
Bilateral cooperation in the field of creative education is developing. As part of the VGIK International Student Festival, screenings of 38 films from the festival took place at the Russian-Armenian University.
In pursuance of the agreements reached at the meeting of the intergovernmental commission, the second Russian-Armenian Forum of Education in the Field of Culture was held in Moscow in December 2024.
Cooperation in the healthcare sector is being strengthened, including within the framework of the annual Russian-Armenian healthcare forums. The ninth Russian-Armenian Health Forum, dedicated to maternal and child health issues, took place on December 16, 2024 in Yerevan. During the forum, a system of expanded perinatal screening developed and successfully used in Russia was presented.
Russia and Armenia are developing mutual tourism. From January to September 2024, the number of trips by Russian tourists to Armenia amounted to 715.8 thousand, and by Armenian tourists to Russia – 266 thousand.
Speaking about cooperation in multilateral formats, primarily through the Eurasian Economic Union, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that the union has become a real guarantor of energy and food security in Armenia, as well as its technological development.
“The countries of the union are a key sales market and a key supplier to the Armenian market. The EAEU accounts for 56% of Armenian food exports, 80% of machinery and equipment exports, 67% of chemical products exports, and 56% of textile exports. The EAEU also provides 72% of energy imports, 49% of precious metals imports, 38% of food imports, 34% of wood imports. During membership in the union, the export of industrial goods from Armenia increased 15 times, and food products from Armenia – 4 times. Since joining the EAEU in 2015, Armenia’s GDP per capita has grown almost 2.4 times. This became possible due to the benefits of the common goods market, low prices for agricultural raw materials and energy, the convenience of the migration regime, and the common services market,” said Alexey Overchuk.
Following the meeting, the protocol of the 23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia was signed.
The parties also signed an Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on the conditions of activity in the Republic of Armenia of the Russian-Armenian University, an Agreement for the state purchase of polyvalent, cultural, sorbed, inactivated vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease, an Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on the conditions of activity in Yerevan of the Educational and Sports Complex of Gazprom Armenia CJSC and work plan Russian-Armenian Business Council for 2025.