Friendship between our countries is measured by many centuries, said the Prime Minister of Georgia during his speech at the official opening ceremony of the new road bridge on the Debeda River near the Georgia-Armenia border.

Irakli Garibashvili opened the new road bridge together with the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

“I greet my friend and friend of our country, the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan. I am happy to host him in Georgia. We know very well that the friendship between our countries is measured by many centuries. Our relationship is not only an example of brotherhood and friendship, but it is an important prerequisite for the prosperity, stability, security and development of the entire region. The bridge of friendship that we built together symbolizes the success of our cooperation and friendship. The 160-meter-long 4-lane bridge of modern standards and parameters, jointly built on the territory of two states, is a unique project in the region. As a result of its commissioning, the transport capacity on the border is doubled. The quality of road safety is improving both for citizens and guests of the two countries, as well as for transit vehicles, which in turn will contribute to the further strengthening of trade and economic relations.

I want to point out that the bridge will not only be useful for the citizens and guests of Armenia and Georgia, but also acquires strategic importance as an important part of the East-West international highway.

Today, the development of the road corridor in our country is taking place at a high pace, we have already built half of the East-West highway, and in just 2 years, the construction of all its main sections will be completed. In the context of such large-scale projects, of course, the functioning of the bridge of modern standards of the checkpoints becomes even more relevant, and I would like to mention once again that the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was very important for the cooperation of the two friendly countries, and I would like to thank the representative of the bank. More than 7 million euros have been allocated for this project.

I would also like to personally thank the management of the bank, as well as construction and supervision companies, government agencies and professional teams of both sides, project authors, engineers, builders, everyone who was involved in the implementation of this important project. It can be said, Mr. Prime Minister, that we have built a new bridge of friendship between our countries, and today we are officially celebrating it. This bridge strengthens us, our countries, region as a whole, so once again I congratulate you, I thank you, I wish our countries peace, prosperity and progress to our people”, - said Irakli Garibashvili.