Georgian and Dutch PM’s Meet in the Netherlands

“The Netherlands is a great supporter of our country in both bilateral and multilateral formats. We highly appreciate this support" - Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated after a meeting with his Dutch vis-à-vis Mark Rutte at a joint conference.

According to the Georgian PMs press office, the head of government noted that the parties conversed on all directions of collaboration between the two nations.

"This is the first high-level visit of the Georgian Prime Minister to the Netherlands and the first visit by me as a head of government to an EU member state. We discussed the occupation of Georgian territories. We also talked about our country's progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration. We consider the Netherlands an important partner in this direction. We are also grateful for the Netherlands' involvement and support in the implementation of the NATO-Georgia substantial package. We also discussed issues of economic cooperation. We are pleased that the number of tourists has significantly increased from the Netherlands to Georgia,” - the Georgian Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia acknowledged and thanked the Prime Minister of the Netherlands for hosting him.

‘As a result of several-year efforts, Georgia became an exemplary country for other countries in the region and that is why it is a key partner of the Netherlands and the European Union’ - Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, commented on the joint conference with Gakharia.

According to InterPressNews and the Georgian Prime Minister's press office, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands called the visit ‘historic’ and noted that it was a confirmation of the high-level affairs between the two countries.

“Your visit is truly historic, as we are hosting the Prime Minister of Georgia for the first time in the format of a bilateral visit to the Netherlands. Your visit is proof that the relationship between our countries has never been at such a high level. This is especially true in our trade relations. The Netherlands is one of Georgia's largest trade partners, while we are on second place in terms of investments. We absolutely believe in the future of your country. We believe in the solid macroeconomic stability of your country, the growth of its economy and its reforms. We are confident that stability will provide opportunities to further develop our trade relations in the coming years, including in the agrarian sector,” the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands said.

As stated by Mark Rutte, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has been sending agricultural trade missions to Georgia for five years and is ready to share its experience with Georgia in numerous areas in the future.

Mark Rutte also emphasized the affirmative trend of tourism growth, further remarking that the above was stimulated by the Dutch television program shot in Georgia, which is particularly popular in the Netherlands. “It is obvious that we search and find each other in many areas,” Mark Rutte said after the meeting.

By Beka Alexishvili