The delegation of the RA Ministry of Economy led by the Deputy Minister Arman Khojoyan is on official visit to Georgia. The delegation consists of the Secretary General of the RA Ministry of Economy Armen Khachatryan, the Executive Director of the Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia Zaruhi Muradyan, the Acting Head of the Intellectual Property Agency Kristine Hambaryan, and the Head of Industrial Development Department Armen Yeganyan. During the visit, the Armenian delegation is accompanied by the RA Ambassador to Georgia Ruben Sadoyan.

On April 5, 2021, within the framework of the visit, the delegation of the RA Ministry of Economy was received by the Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Otar Shamugia.

The meeting was also attended by the President of the Georgian National Wine Agency Levan Mekhuzla, representatives of the Ministries of Economy and Finance of Georgia, and other officials.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss with the Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia the possibilities of implementing regional programs, as well as find ways to solve the problems, including those related to marking, arising during transportation of brandy alcohol and wine from Armenia to other countries through Georgia.

Taking into account Georgia’s experience in controlling the harvesting and processing of grapes, one of the topics on the agenda was development of joint mechanisms to increase the level of control in this direction.

During the meeting, preliminary agreements were reached on eliminating problems during transportation of Mskhali, Saperavi, and Rkatsiteli grape varieties. Reference was also made to production of Kakhet grape variety in Armenia and the geographical name of Kakheti in Georgia. In connection with this problem, the parties agreed to set up a working group to study the possibility of preserving Georgia’s Kakheti toponym and at the same time the unimpeded sale of Kakheti grape wines produced in Armenia.

On April 6, 2021, the Armenian delegation was received by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Levan Davitashvili. A wide range of issues related to the prospects of bilateral cooperation in various branches of agricultural sector were discussed at the meeting.

Some arrangements have been made to make joint efforts and take steps to facilitate inspections in the transit zone. In this context, in order to avoid unnecessary obstacles, the interlocutors also considered the possibility of advance preparation of necessary documents for organization of transportation through the territory of Georgia.

A number of other issues related to control of the grape value chain, establishment of a wine cadaster, introduction of farmers’ registration system, and use of modern irrigation systems were discussed.

During the visit, the Armenian delegation also visited the Georgian National Wine Agency, where a number of issues related to viticulture and winemaking were discussed.

The visit of the Georgian delegation to Armenia is planned in near future for exchange of experience in the agricultural sector.