Parliament Chair Irakli Kobakhidze on Official Visit to Latvia
Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia, met with Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Latvian Saeima, today, while on an official visit to Latvia, together with the Georgian parliamentary delegation. A memorandum on strategic partnership between the Parliament of Georgia and Saeima of Latvia was signed at the meeting.
“Our partnership is based on common values, and this is the best ground for a partnership and collaboration between the two countries and parliaments. The main focus of our cooperation is an aspiration towards democracy, Euro-Atlantic integration and also our cultural values and ties,” Ināra Mūrniece said, after the memorandum signing.
“Latvia will continue to support Georgia and that support is firm,” Ms Mūrniece stated, noting that the signing of the memorandum with the parliament of Georgia is a possibility to further deepen the strategic partnership between Latvia’s Saeima and the Georgian Parliament.
“We are sure that the memorandum of strategic cooperation will bring our cooperation to a new level,” Irakli Kobakhidze said after the signing.
Kobakhidze, who started his official visit to Latvia on January 15th, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs, as one of the first official meetings of the visit, and as the Minister said, Georgia’s Parliament speaker and Latvia’s Foreign Minister both noted “that the year 2018 will be a special milestone in relations between Latvia and Georgia”, with both countries set to celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations. Edgars Rinkēvičs also pointed out the importance of the Eastern Partnership Summit 2017, emphasizing that the document on 20 Deliverables for 2020 approved at the summit “is a stepping-stone towards the strengthening of the tangible cooperation between the EU and its partner countries,”. He also welcomed Georgia’s reform process, encouraging going further with the reforms in the field of justice, the rule of law, and with good governance and economy. Latvia’s Foreign Minister also confirmed that they would support Georgia’s reforms in the framework of the EU and bilateral programs.
By Nino Gugunishvili