Kyrgyz President Visits Georgia
TBILISI - The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Almazbek Atambayev, is paying an official visit to Georgia. Atambayev arrived in Tbilisi with the Kyrgyz First Lady and his delegation late on Wednesday.
Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili and the First Lady Maka Chichua welcomed the guests in the Presidential Palace.
As a part of the ceremony, the two presidents introduced one another to national delegation members and the diplomatic corps.
The welcoming ceremony was also attended by Georgian governmental officials: the Minister of Economic and Sustainable Development, Dimitry Kumsishvili, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikhail Janelidze, Education Minister, Alexander Jejeleva, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Mghebrishvili, the Minister of Finance, Nodar Khaduri, the Head of the Presidential Administration, Giorgi Abashishvili, the Acting Secretary of the National Security Council, Levan Bodzashvili and the President’s Foreign Affairs Secretary, Tengiz Pkhaladze.
After the ceremony the presidents held a face to face meeting in which Margvelashvili expressed hope that the first-time visit of Almazbek Atambayev to Georgia would further strengthen relations between Georgia and Kyrgyzstan.
Political ties between the two countries were discussed at the meeting and both parties agreed that intensive dialogue between Georgia and Kyrgyzstan should always be supported.
The Georgian president noted that agreements signed in the fields of security, economy, and education will create new cooperation opportunities between the two countries.
Moreover, the officials discussed the situation in the occupied territories of Georgia and the incidents of human rights violations.
Margvelashvili pointed out that Georgia still faces Russia’s creeping occupation in Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which complicates the humanitarian situation of the local population.
The regional role of Georgia and the development of the trans-regional collaboration were also discussed at the meeting.
Margvelashvili thanked Atambayev for supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Atambayev paid tribute to the memory of soldiers who died fighting for the territorial integrity of Georgia, and laid a wreath at the national memorial at Heroes Square in Tbilisi.
Further, the Georgian and Kyrgyz sides signed an agreement to prevent double taxation and evasion of income and capital taxes. The agreement is expected to increase economic cooperation between Georgia and Kyrgyzstan and attract more foreign investments.
By Thea Morrison