Spain's Foreign Minister Says New Embassy to Open in Georgia

TBILISI - Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo on Monday announced Madrid’s plan to open an embassy in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi in the coming months.

During a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Janelidze, the two diplomats said that initial steps towards open a Spanish diplomatic mission have already been taken.

At present, the Spanish interest section located in the Dutch embassy in Tbilisi handles Madrid’s consular affairs.

Janelidze also took time to praise the increasingly close political, economic, agricultural and cultural relations between Georgia and Spain.

The sides also discussed Georgia’s expected visa liberalization regime with the EU and the Warsaw NATO Summit scheduled for July.

Garcia-Margallo reaffirmed Spain’s support for Georgia’s territorial integrity as well as Tbilisi’s drive towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration during a meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.