MEETING OF NIKOLOZ SAMKHARADZE WITH TOIVO KLAAR ON REGIONAL SECURITY MATTERS
Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, met with Toivo Klaar, Designated European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia.
The 57th session of the Geneva International Discussions, which was originally set for February of this year, was postponed for a number of reasons, which the parties discussed.
A specific focus was placed on Georgia's role as a mediator in the South Caucasus area and the significance of the government's peace initiative as part of the discussion of regional security challenges and current processes in the region.
The challenging circumstances in the Georgian regions that the Russian Federation has occupied and their illegal activities were disclosed to the special envoy of the European Union by Nikoloz Samkharadze.
The Chair of the Committee highlighted the crucial tasks carried out by the EU Monitoring Mission.
The sides concurred that they will maintain close coordination on all future topics pertaining to bilateral cooperation.
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MEETING OF THE PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN WITH THE HEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIONS
On May 4, 2023, at the Olympic Stadium, located in the capital's Olympic Village, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with President of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) Gianni Infantino.
Greeting the guest on the ancient and hospitable Turkmen land, the head of state first of all congratulated him on his re-election as the President of the International Federation of Football Associations and wished him new success in the development of football around the world.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov stressed that he keeps the warmest memories of their meeting last December in Doha (State of Qatar), where one of the matches of the World Cup was held, at which an invitation to visit Turkmenistan was accepted.
Expressing gratitude for the invitation to visit Turkmenistan and the time allotted for a personal meeting, the head of FIFA sincerely thanked President Serdar Berdimuhamedov for the warm welcome and the opportunity to see the achievements of modern Turkmenistan with his own eyes.
Speaking about the main milestones in the development of domestic football, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that the Football Federation of Turkmenistan was established in 1992. In the same year, games of the National Major League of Turkmenistan and tournaments for the Cup of Turkmenistan begin to be held. In 1994, the Football Federation of Turkmenistan became a member of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.
As noted, the Football Federation of Turkmenistan pays great attention to the development of children's football. As a result, since 2000, with the active participation of the Football Federation of Turkmenistan and UNICEF, together with FIFA, Grassroots football festivals have been held on a regular basis from March to November, in which football players of various ages take part.
Every year, the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, together with FIFA, holds international seminars in our country to improve the skills of football and mini-football referees, as a result of which referees who have successfully passed the tests receive the status of an international class referee.
During the meeting, the guest presented the head of Turkmenistan with a symbolic gift - a personalized T-shirt, an official ball and a FIFA pennant.
Thanking the Turkmen side for the willingness and desire to further intensify cooperation in the field of sports, the President of the International Federation of Football Associations highly appreciated the large-scale work carried out in the country to popularize the mass physical culture and health improvement movement and elite sports.
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A delegation from the committee for European Union affairs of the German Bundestag will visit Georgia from May 2nd to 5th, 2023. Members of the delegation are: Christian Petry (SPD, Head of delegation), Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU/CSU), Michael Sacher (BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN), Thomas Hacker (FDP) and Dr. Harald Weyel (AfD).
During the visit, meetings are planned with the Minister of Justice, H.E. Rati Bregadze, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, H.E. Levan Davitashvili, and Deputy Foreign Minister, H.E. Teimuraz Janjalia.
Furthermore, the delegation will hold talks with the Speaker of the Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili and the chairmen of several committees of the Georgian Parliament.
The program is completed by exchanges with representatives of civil society, the media, business and cultural institutions.
As Georgia submitted an application for membership to the European Union in March 2022 and has had the prospect of joining the EU since June 2022, the talks will concern necessary reforms and the structure of relations and cooperation between Georgia and the EU.
Against the background of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the focus will also be on coordinating questions of foreign and security policy, as well as on the regional effects of the war and geopolitical aspects.
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The EU Foreign Affairs Council took place on 24 April, with the situation in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova as priority topics.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba addressed the EU ministers via video conference, and briefed them about the latest developments on the ground and Ukraine’s military priorities and needs, especially in terms of ammunition and missiles.
EU High Representative Josep Borrell highlighted that in total the EU and its member states have already facilitated the delivery to Ukraine of over €13 billion in military support.
He also updated ministers on EU military support to Ukraine in the context of the three-track plan. On track one, the EU adopted an assistance measure under the European Peace Facility worth €1 billion to address Ukraine’s most immediate needs. EU member states are also finalising work on track two, to facilitate joint procurement. Lastly, the European Commission will soon present concrete proposals on how to ramp up the European defence production capacity under track three.
Ministers were also informed about the activities of the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine), which has already exceeded its initial target by training over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers. The EU aims to train a total of 30,000 soldiers by the end of 2023.
EU Foreign Ministers also held an informal exchange with the Georgian Foreign Minister, Ilia Darchiashvili, and confirmed that Georgia has made significant progress in many key reforms. They also highlighted that rule of law, human rights, media, civil society and independent state institutions are important elements for each country aspiring to join the EU.
Concerning Moldova, the Foreign Affairs Council established a new civilian EU CSDP partnership mission (EUPM Moldova), reached a broad agreement on a new framework for sanctions against those who destabilise the country, and on allocating further €40 million coming from the European Peace Facility to support Moldova’s defence capabilities.
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, together with a delegation, has set out on a visit to Belgium.
Within the scope of the visit, Irakli Garibashvili will hold high-level bilateral meetings at both NATO and the EU.Led by the Prime Minister, the Georgian delegation consists of Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Head of the Government Administration Revaz Javelidze.Press Service of the Government Administration -
From 2024, nationals of all 59 countries across the world that enjoy visa-free travel to the EU, including Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, will be required to obtain ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) travel authorisation. This is a new requirement introduced by the European Union to enter any of the 27 Schengen countries, Bulgaria, Romania, or Cyprus.
ETIAS is an online travel authorisation, not a visa.
With a valid ETIAS travel authorisation, you will be able to stay in any of the 30 European countries for 90 days in any 180-day period.
To apply for ETIAS you must have a passport valid for more than 3 months, provide an email address, complete the online form and pay a fee of €7.
There is only one official ETIAS website: europa.eu/etias. The application form will be made available on this website once the system is launched.
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