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• The Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs D. Zalkaliani, held an official visit to the Republic of Turkey

  Ankara, March 3rd, 2020 – The Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Zalkaliani, held an official visit to the Republic of Turkey. Within the framework of the visit the Vice Prime Minister held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

  During the meeting of the Foreign Minister issues relevant to the bilateral agenda were discussed, along with the challenges, threats and prospects faced by the region. The existing strategic partnership between the two states was underscored, with a particular emphasis being made on existing economic projects, which ensure stable development of the region, elevating its significance to strategic levels.

  The Georgian Vice Prime Minister expressed his gratitude towards Turkey for the unwavering support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, along with the staunch support in terms of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

  The parties discussed the significance of the high-level strategic partnership council of Georgia and Turkey, expressing hope that the session delayed due to the pandemic will take place soon, allowing for further deepening of relations between the two states, increasing the degree of cooperation between inter-state institutions.

  Particular emphasis was made on the successful cooperation of the two states in the fields of politics, trade, economy, transportation, energy, defence and security, culture, as well as humanitarian issues. Issues associated with the dimensions of trade and economy, transport and energy were discussed in detail. It was noted with satisfaction that Turkey represents one of the main trading partners of Georgia, underscoring that more efforts are needed to increase Georgian exports to the Turkish markets.

  The parties welcomed the liberalisation of tariffs conducted within the framework of the signing of the free trade agreement, along with steps taken in terms of the activation of the diagonal cumulation between Georgia, Turkey and the EU. The aforementioned agreement further increases Georgian and Turkish exports to the EU common market.

  The significance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines along with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project was noted. It was stated that the realisation of southern energy corridors will further solidify security of the region, ensuring additional volumes of energy resources of the Caspian basin for the European markets.

  In terms of multilateral relations the parties welcomed the existing trilateral cooperation format of the region connecting Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey, which bears prospects of development. The parties agreed to support the deepening of regional cooperation via the means of the aforementioned format.

  The developments taking place in Southern Caucasus were also discussed. The unambiguous support for peaceful resolution of conflicts was underscored. In this regard, satisfaction was expressed in terms of the establishment of peace in Nagorno-Karabakh. The discussion also touched upon the issue of new regional initiatives. It was noted that any type of initiative must be based upon and implemented with the principles of mutual respect, equality, sovereignty, territorial integrity of all parties involved. Additionally, Minister Zalkaliani made particular emphasis on the fact that regional states must be open for cooperation with both European partners as well as partners from Asia, with the actual cooperation focusing on economic projects, which would support sustainable development of the region, while strengthening economic ties between Europe and Asia.

  Towards the end of the meeting the parties expressed readiness to further strengthen the existing strategic partnership between the two states.

  MFA Statement
• David Zalkaliani held a conversation with his Polish counterpart

  The Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, David Zalkaliani, held a telephone conversation with his Polish colleague, Zbigniew Rau. During the discussion the Ministers noted with particular emphasis the existing special friendship and partnership between the two countries.

  The discussion also touched upon the unfolding events in Georgia’s internal politics. The Ministers underscored the importance of diverting said processes towards a constructive framework and the necessity of dialogue, in order to ensure timely resolution of the existing crisis.

  Additionally, David Zalkaliani expressed gratitude towards his Polish counterpart for the staunch support demonstrated by Poland in terms of Georgia’s foreign policy aspirations, along with its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

  The head of the Foreign Ministries of Georgia and Poland deliberated upon the existing situation in both countries in the context of the global pandemic, along with the process of vaccination. The necessity of equal distribution of vaccines was noted. The Georgian Foreign Minister expressed gratitude towards Poland for taking a strong stance on said issue and exerting appropriate efforts.
• We should provide important assistance to the conflict-affected population and enact an instrument needed for a dialogue and de-escalation of the conflict - the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

  "Georgia is a strong partner of OSCE in resolving conflicts, as well as within the OSCE concept of security encompassing 3 dimensions”-  the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden, Ann Linde said following her meeting with the Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Zalkaliani.
   
  According to the Swedish diplomat, Georgia and OSCE should play an important role in establishing peace and security in the region. She reaffirmed strong support for Georgia’s constructive participation in this significant effort.
   
  Ann Linde stressed that active engagement in Russia-Georgia conflict resolution process is one of the key priorities of the Swedish chairmanship of OSCE.
   
  In her words, the challenges facing the European security should be resolved by adhering to OSCE principles and commitments, as well as through dialogue and engagement. “OSCE has long been playing an important role in Georgia through its active engagement in the Geneva International Discussions and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism. We hope that we can provide an important assistance to the conflict-affected population and enact an instrument needed for a dialogue and de-escalation of the conflict and strengthen the democratic institutions of Georgia” - Ann Linde said.
   
  According to Ann Linde, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, Co-chair of the Geneva International Discussions, Annika Söder will play an important role in this regard.  
   
  Within the framework of her visit to Georgia, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office will hold meetings with the Georgian President, Salome Zourabichvili, Speaker of Parliament, Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian PM, Giorgi Gakharia. Ann Linde is also to visit the village of Khurvaleti.

  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

   

• Prime Minister meets with Iran’s Foreign Minister, discusses regional state of affairs and development of bilateral trade and economic ties

  Today, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia held a meeting with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

  The conversation focused on the situation in the region, including the latest developments, and Georgia's key role in the region's economic development and regional stability alike.

  The parties also discussed bilateral and regional relations. In the context of bilateral relations, special emphasis was placed on the trade and economic ties between the two countries, also the importance of cementing their transit and transport communications, tapping into the potential in these areas, and dealing with area-specific difficulties in a timely manner.
  
  The dialogue also touched on the pandemic-related situations and future plans in both countries.
  The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirmed strong support for Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

  The meeting at the Government's Administration was attended by Georgia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Khvtisiashvili.

  
  Press Service of the Government Administration

• The EU commits a further €55 million for the development of agriculture and rural areas in Georgia

  The fourth phase of the EU’s ENPARD programme will provide extended assistance in the food safety and SPS sector to enhance consumer protection and promote EU exports of Georgian products. The programme will also continue to support rural development to further improve living conditions for a larger proportion of the rural population in Georgia.
   
  TBILISI. December 17, 2020 – The EU Ambassador to Georgia H.E. Carl Hartzell and the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Mr. David Zalkaliani today signed an agreement to kick off the fourth phase of the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD IV) worth €55 million (approximately GEL 215 million). The Acting Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Mr. Levan Davitashvili also attended the signature event. The programme aims to enhance consumer protection, promote EU exports and improve livelihoods of rural population in Georgia. It is part of the wider assistance package mobilized by the EU and Team Europe to support Georgia’s COVID-19 recovery.  
   
  “We are happy to announce today our continued cooperation with the government of Georgia under the fourth phase of the ENPARD programme. Since 2013, with over GEL 500 million budget, the EU’s ENPARD programme has been providing extensive support to make Georgia’s agriculture more competitive and to improve living standards in rural areas. Looking forward, we would like to see more Georgian farmers, cooperatives and small and medium size enterprises better equipped to produce high quality products and export to the EU. We also support better infrastructure and services, growth of tourism, more effective local public-private partnerships and entrepreneurship in rural areas. This will help create new employment opportunities and will maximize the country’s economic growth,” stated Carl Hartzell, EU Ambassador to Georgia.
   
  “ENPARD programme brings concrete results for our country and particularly for our rural population. As a result of this program, the quality of products, the employment opportunities for our citizens and the EU exports are significantly improving. Even more important is the implementation of this programme at in the pandemic context. The financial support provided to Georgia under the fourth phase of ENPARD is part of the wider EU assistance supporting Georgia’s COVID-19 recovery,” stated David Zalkaliani, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
   
  “Georgia is one of the outstanding countries of the Eastern Partnership that has successfully carried out all three phases of ENPARD programme. We believe that the fourth phase will be implemented successfully as well. This is a remarkable volume of assistance, € 55 million, of which € 31 million is going to be the direct budget support. However, a very important and efficient part of the assistance is a € 24 million technical and grant component, which is going to have a complementary effect on the implementation of our policy also developed in close partnership with the EU,” stated Levan Davitashvili, Acting Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia.
   
  ENPARD IV will provide extended assistance in the food safety and sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) sector to enhance consumer protection for citizens of Georgia and to promote exports of Georgian products to EU Member States. ENPARD IV will build on the achievements of the Comprehensive Institution Building (CIB) programme and of previous ENPARD phases. It will provide further support to the National Food Agency (NFA) for improved inspection and control systems and for continuation of the legal approximation process including enforcement of newly adopted regulations. It will also support food business operators in their efforts to adapt to the sectoral reforms.
   
  In addition, ENPARD IV will further support rural development and will improve living conditions for a larger proportion of the rural population in Georgia, rendering the rural development sector more dynamic and effectively contributing to Georgia’s economic and social development. The fourth phase of ENPARD will improve the economic and social integration of vulnerable households in disadvantaged rural regions of Georgia, including eco-migrants, conflict affected people, ethnic minorities, Georgian returnees and migrants. The action will continue to enhance civic participation in the regions of Georgia through increased civil society involvement in local decision-making processes and will continue to actively promote and encourage participation of youth and women, noting the specific needs and constraints of these groups.

  Press Release of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia