Leaders and officials from neighbouring Armenian and Georgian municipalities met in Dilijan, Armenia, on 26-27 June 2024 to exchange ideas for a cross-border cooperation project involving the creation of youth centres, shared management of agricultural resources, and joint economic development initiatives.

The workshop was opened by Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Vache Terteryan and Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia Mzia Giorgobiani. They reiterated their joint commitment to enhancing cross-border co-operation as a long-term vision for reinvigorating the Euro-Caucasus region, and an opportunity to share experience and good practice not only among neighbouring regions and municipalities, but also among local and regional authorities from across their respective member states, forging closer ties and promoting democratic development. Participating municipalities will be invited to apply to the Council of Europe for small grants to implement their project ideas. 

The workshop is the 4^th Stage of the Leadership Academy Program (LAP) for Cross Border Co-Operation organised in the framework of the project ‘’Democratic Development, Decentralisation and Good Governance in Armenia – Phase II’’, implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Multi-Level Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026, with the financial support of the Austrian Development Agency.