A Brew of Interest: PM Visits Czech Republic
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met with his counterpart, Czech Prime Minister Buhuslav Sobotka and President Milos Zeman, as part of an official two-day visit to the Czech Republic on Monday.
PM Kvirikashvili and PM Sobotka discussed deeper political and economic cooperation between the countries, as well as the EU’s upcoming visa liberalization process for Georgian citizens.
At a joint press conference following the meeting, PM Sobotka reaffirmed Prague’s support for Georgia’s territorial integrity as well as Tbilisi’s Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations, saying Georgia had proved its reliability as a stable partner.
PM Kvirikashvili stated that his government values more robust political and trade relations with the Czech Republic as part of the EU’s Eastern Partnership.
Along with the government and the President, the Senate of the Czech Republic expressed its full support toward Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. The Georgian delegation and Chair of the Senate, Milan Stech, discussing prospects of deepening relations between the two states.
Stech emphasized the reforms implemented in Georgia and the country’s success achieved on the path to European integration.
During the visit to the Czech capital, the PM-led Georgian delegation also held a working dinner with leading Czech companies that plan to invest in Georgia.
In the informal environment, Georgia’s economy and the investment opportunities were broadly discussed. For one it was decided to build a Czech brewery and a factory in Georgia.
In addition, as part of the visit, the Georgian PM met with Georgian students studying in the Czech Republic. The dozens of undergraduate and graduate expat Georgians enrolled in the top Czech institutions, spoke with PM Kvirikashvili about various social, political and economic topics.
“You are vitally important to our country and we think that you should engage in the development of your country as soon as possible,” the Georgian Prime Minister told the Georgian youngster. “This is inevitable, since our country is becoming increasingly interesting to youth who have acquired education in Western universities.”
The PM briefed the future leaders about economic and infrastructural projects in Georgia and discussed adopted foreign policy related measures. He added that considerable success achieved by Georgia in the visa liberalization process is positively assessed by the EU member states including the reforms conducted by the government. The PM declared that the reforms, namely, the 4-pillar plan will move the Georgian economy to a new stage of development.
Zviad Adzinbaia