On March 28, in the company of students, I will travel to Athens, an ancient capital of European civilization, followed by Brussels, Europe's political capital, to celebrate visa waiver for Georgia, a crucially important event, and to thank our partners, the Prime Minister of Georgia stated today before the Government meeting. Giorgi Kvirikashvili once again commented on the importance of visa-free travel for Georgian citizens in the EU/Schengen Area. According to him, three-day celebrations are also planned throughout the country.
"Visa-free travel to EU member states will come into force in a few days. On March 28, visa waiver for Georgian citizens traveling to EU/Schengen Area countries will be introduced. As you know, the EU has finalized all relevant legal procedures. Importantly, we will hold special events on March 26, 27, and 28, to celebrate this achievement throughout the country," Giorgi Kvirikashvili stated.

Today Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili held a meeting with Hungary's Foreign and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó as part of his official visit to Georgia. The parties discussed the key issues of the two countries' bilateral relations and prospects of deeper cooperation, also emphasizing the importance of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Hungary. The upcoming Georgian visit of Hungary's Prime Minister Victor Orban was also discussed, during which a joint business forum will be held to bring together Georgian businesspersons and representatives of 50 large Hungarian companies. Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Péter Szijjártó stressed the need to strengthen trade and economic ties and pointed out the vast investment potential, also commending the positive tourism dynamics, which enable Hungarian Wizz Air to carry out low-cost flights from the Kutaisi Airport. The parties also discussed Georgia's European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs congratulated Giorgi Kvirikashvili on the successful finalization of visa liberalization. According to him, Georgia is convincingly and consistently advancing on its path to European integration and NATO. The Prime Minister of Georgia and Hungary's Foreign Minister also discussed regional challenges and the situation in Georgia's occupied territories. According to the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary offers its unconditional support to Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The Georgian Prime Minister's state visit to Romania is planned for April-the details of the visit, along with core issues of bilateral Georgia-Romania relations, were the main topics discussed at today's meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Romanian Ambassador Liviu Horumba. During the discussion, the active multidirectional cooperation and political ties between the two countries were emphasized. Special attention was paid to the need of enhancing economic cooperation. According to the Prime Minister, the Georgian Government welcomes new Romanian investors in Georgia and appreciates the deepening trade and economic relations between the two countries. The parties also spoke of Georgia's progress toward European and Euro-Atlantic integration. During the meeting, the Romanian Ambassador reaffirmed support for Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty and the country's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met today with Igor Dolgov, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine. The parties discussed the key issues of Georgia-Ukraine relations and emphasized the need to intensify cooperation. Special emphasis was placed on the Prime Minister's upcoming visit to Kiev to participate in the GUAM meeting of top officials. The parties discussed the importance of sharing experience in European integration and the regional situation and security challenges. The meeting at the Administration of the Government was attended by Tedo Japaridze, the Prime Minister's Foreign Adviser.

We must ensure access to mountain resorts for everyone, regardless of their income, which is very important, the Prime Minister said at today's Government meeting. Giorgi Kvirikashvili commented on and commended the decision of the Georgian Government to introduce spring break in the country's schools. "The more children are able to use this opportunity at a healthy lifestyle, engaging in winter sports and take in the lasting positive atmosphere of mountain resorts, the better. This is the first year we reinstate spring break, and I hope that its scope will grow next year. To my knowledge, numerous hotels and sports schools are preparing infrastructure to make vacationing accessible. As you know, winter resorts are quite expensive, but increasing the number of winter vacationers will cause prices to drop. Of course, it is worth spending some of state resources to this end as well," the Prime Minister stated. According to Minister of Education and Science Alexandre Jejelava, about 10,000 enjoyed their spring break in winter resorts. "With support from the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and the Mountain Resorts Development Company at the Ministry of Economy, a total of almost 10,000 children visited mountain resorts during spring break. It is especially exciting since 300 children from small schools enjoyed spring break in mountain resorts with state financing. Most of them probably had never been there before. We have big plans and we think that the scope will be considerably larger next year. The federation helped tremendously, and winter sports competitions were held. Sports schools were actively involved, and the Mountain Resorts Development Company gave a good account of itself," the Minister of Education stated.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met today with Kai Kaarelson, the newly appointed Ambassador of Estonia to Georgia. The parties discussed prospects of deepening Georgia-Estonia relations and the successful cooperation between the two countries in a number of directions. Giorgi Kvirikashvili expressed his gratitude to Estonia for supporting EU visa waiver for Georgia. Special attention was paid to education and economic cooperation. The Prime Minister emphasized Georgia's successful reforms based on Estonian experience, including the so-called Estonian tax model prescribing to tax only dividends. The parties also discussed governance reform, one of the key directions of the Georgian Government's reform agenda, which seeks to increase transparency and ensure greater citizen engagement in government decision-making. The Ambassador commended Georgia's reforms and pointed out that Estonia could benefit from familiarizing itself with Georgian experience.

The new regulation allowing Georgian citizens to enjoy visa-free travel has been signed, with the signing ceremony at the European Parliament attended today by Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The document was signed by President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani and Chris Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for the EU Presidency. The regulation enabling Georgia's citizens to travel visa-free in the EU/Schengen Area will be published in the official magazine of the EU in a few days. Within 20 days after publication, the citizens of Georgia will enjoy short-term visa-free travel to the EU/Schengen Area member states.

Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili: Greetings, Mr. EU Commissioner! Greetings, esteemed ambassadors! Representatives of the Government and Parliament, citizens of Georgia, it is with great pleasure and joy that I congratulate you on this day! We are excited that today the Council of the European Union adopted the final regulatory amendment introducing visa-free travel for Georgia's citizens. This is the final step in the decision-making process. I congratulate every Georgian citizen on this very important decision. Notably, all three EU institutions have given their ultimate consent to visa liberalization for Georgia. The revised regulation will be signed on March 1 and published in the official journal of the EU a few days later. Twenty days after the publication, Georgian citizens will be able to enjoy short-term visa-free travel in the EU/Schengen Area. It is symbolic that our friend, EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos is here in Georgia on this important day, to share this success with us. I would like to thank Mr. Avramopoulos for his personal efforts in the process of Georgia-EU visa liberalization. We also appreciate unanimous support from the EU member states and the European Parliament. Introduction of visa waiver is an important step on the path to Georgia's European integration, drawing Georgia ever closer to Europe. This outcome bears witness to two things: 1) The EU's due recognition of the Georgian Government's efforts seeking to build democratic institutions, also confirming that Georgia-EU partnership is reliable and solid. In addition, this achievement is an additional stimulus for the Georgian Government to continue its legislative and institutional reforms. 2) Even more importantly, this result proves that the European Union does come through with its promises. Today, the European spirit is stronger in Georgia than anywhere else. The European idea triumphs in Georgia as nowhere else. The importance of a unified Europe and its common foreign, security and economic policies is embraced in Georgia stronger than anywhere else. My fellow compatriots, I congratulate you on this day! I also congratulate Europe because Georgia, as an integral part of European civilization, has drawn even closer today to its European family. Visa-free access to the European Union will bring tangible, concrete benefits to the citizens of Georgia. Visa-free travel to the EU member states will promote closer tourism, educational, cultural, and business relations between our societies, also contributing to the introduction and advancement of European values and ideas in Georgia. It is important, that all the benefits of visa-free travel will be available to our citizens in the occupied territories. The Georgian Government is fully aware of the responsibility accompanying the launch of visa-free travel. We are implementing a set of preventive measures to ensure against possible risks, including a far-reaching large-scale awareness campaign about the rules of visa-free travel. We expect every Georgian citizen to demonstrate exceptional responsibility in fulfilling their duties and scrupulously observing the terms of travel. The reforms implemented under visa liberalization are integral parts of the Georgian Government's agenda. Therefore, our efforts in this direction continue, making up a continuous and sustainable process in which we always enjoy strong support from the EU. Once again, I would like to express my immense gratitude to every member of my team for their enormous efforts. I am grateful to our friend, EU Commissioner Avramopoulos, for this crucially important visit. I also thank EU Ambassador to Georgia Janos Herman for his great support throughout this process. I am thankful to the ambassadors of our friends, the EU member states, for their work in Georgia, for their assistance to the Government of Georgia in achieving this huge success. Thank you very much. I congratulate you on this day!

According to the Prime Minister of Georgia, the main aspects of relations between Georgia and Armenia, trade and economic situation as well as the prospects of deepening cooperation across wide range of areas, including transportation and energy sectors, tourism, and culture were discussed during the meeting with his Armenian counterpart.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Karen Karapetyan made joint statements for the press and discussed the details of their meeting. The head of the Government of Georgia expressed hope that good-neighbourly relations between Georgia and Armenia will deepen ever more through the joint efforts of the prime ministers of both countries. 
"We expressed readiness to continue high-level meetings and further support the close cooperation of sectoral agencies. In the eyes of Georgia, Armenia represents a country with which we share centuries of good-neighbourly traditions and solid people-to-people links. 2017 is a remarkable year in terms of the modern history of the relations between the countries. Namely, this year marks 25th anniversary of launching diplomatic relations between Georgia and Armenia. Throughout these years we managed to solidify the friendly relations between our nations and built the mutually beneficial cooperation. The Parliamentary elections in Armenia will take place on April 2 of this year. We are convinced that the elections will be conducted at a high level and the said event will be in full compliance with the international standards and the principles of democracy. We regard this election as an additional step towards development of the country. During the meeting we discussed the main areas of cooperation between our countries. We analyzed the trade and economic situation as well as perspectives of deepening our cooperation," - was stated by Giorgi Kvirikashvili. 
According to the head of the Government, challenges facing the region as well as the perspectives of enhancing cooperation within the region were also discussed during the meeting. 
"Mr. Prime Minister had quite interesting suggestions regarding cooperation and full utilization of the common market across the various industries of the both countries. We expressed readiness to work actively in this area and motivate the private sectors of both countries to fully employ the potential of the regional cooperation," - was noted by the Prime Minister. 
Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan thanked his Georgian counterpart for inviting him to Georgia and the warm welcome. According to him, all areas of cooperation were discussed during the meeting. The sides agreed to foster enhancement of the said relations. 
"We discussed the issue of regional cooperation and I am convinced that we have an enormous potential in this area. We would like Georgians to view Armenia as a country that is worth investing in and visiting as a tourist. Our colleagues have an offer for the businessmen. Namely, they would like to organize a meeting where potential of Armenian and Georgian markets will be scrutinized," - was stated by the Prime Minister of Armenia. 
Karen Karapetyan indicated that he invited Giorgi Kvirikashvili to undertake an official visit to Armenia. Pursuant to the Armenian Prime Minister, this will further strengthen the relations between the countries. 

We are committed to intensifying our trade, economic, and investment relations and deepening regional integration, and we believe it will bring not only economic but also political stability to the region, the Prime Minister of Georgia stated during today's enhanced format meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili spoke of the centuries-old good neighborly relations and traditional friendship between the Georgian and Armenian nations. 
"I am very happy that today we have an opportunity to make use of the untapped potential in the relations between our countries, and this potential does exist indeed, as we pointed out at our face-to-face meeting. We are committed to intensifying our trade, economic, and investment relations and deepening regional integration, and we believe it will bring not only economic but also political stability to the region," the Prime Minister of Georgia stated.
The Prime Minister of Armenia stressed the prospects of deepening the two countries' relations. Karen Karapetyan thanked Giorgi Kvirikashvili for his hospitality.
"The atmosphere here is terribly missed by us. I agree with the Georgian Prime Minister's assessment about the excellent state and potential of our relations. We have come here in the spirit of brotherhood and constructive business relations, and I am convinced that our negotiations will result in a new stimulus for utilizing the potential of our relations. We want to create an environment for businesspersons to engage in various projects," the Prime Minister of Armenia said.
During the enhanced format meeting, the parties paid attention to promoting closer cooperation between the sectoral instantons of the two countries, also discussing further developing trade and economic, transport, energy, and tourism cooperation.
The regional situation was also discussed at the meeting, and the importance of peace and stability for the development of the countries was emphasized. After the enhanced format meeting, an agreement on cooperation in the field of healthcare was signed between the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia.