On the German President’s Visit to Georgia
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is paying an official visit to Georgia with his wife Elke Budenbender.
Steinmeier has so far met with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili at the Atoneli Presidential Palace and Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia. He is also set to meet with Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze and His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II.
During the visit, Steinmeier will also meet with Georgian businessmen in Tbilisi and visit several wineries in the Kakheti region of western Georgia, Alaverdi Monastery and the Palace of King Erekle II.
The visit will end on October 8.
Steinmeier last visited Georgia in 2016 when he was serving as Foreign Minister of Germany.
Steinmeier’s meeting with his Georgian counterpart Salome Zurabishvili on Sunday was followed by a joint statement for the media, where the presidents of the two countries discussed a number of important issues.
While speaking about the German-Georgian relations, President Steinmeier accentuated the successful cooperation that has been established between the countries over the past few years and highlighted the cultural perspectives of that collaboration, in particular the Frankfurt Book Fair 2018, where Georgia enjoyed the status of Guest of Honor, as one of the best examples. He noted that the event much contributed to introducing various Georgian authors to German audiences. He added that there is a lot of information about Georgia in the German press and other media resources.
“In almost all newspapers and magazines there are articles about Georgian literature, the country’s culture, as well as offers to travel to the region of Svaneti or participate in harvesting in Kakheti,” stated Steinmeier, noting that through the detailed information about the country, Georgia has become very attractive for German tourists.
At the German President’s meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, the parties focused on the successful German-Georgian cooperation, as well as the potential for the enhancement of economic links in numerous sectors.
The problem of the occupation currently faced by Georgia and the difficult situation present in the occupied regions of the country were also discussed at the meeting, seeing the Head of the Georgian Government accentuating the vital importance of introducing the development of events in Georgia’s occupied territories at high level international and bilateral formats. PM Gakharia expressed gratitude to Germany for its involvement in the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM).
The progress achieved by Georgia on the path to European and Euro-Atlantic integration was also underlined at the meeting, with Gakharia highlighting the role of German experts in the implementation of the NATO-Georgia Substantial Package.
"Germany's support has a tremendous importance in the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Georgia. Your official visit confirms that Germany regards Georgia as its reliable partner,” the PM told the German President.
Along with political and economic partnership, the parties also spoke about collaborating in the spheres of culture and education.
By The GT Team
Image source: 1tv.ge