President discusses Georgia’s future with European leaders

The first day of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Prague has ended on a high for the President of Georgia, who met with world leaders participating in an event dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili arrived in Prague yesterday and was faced with a full schedule with official meetings with his Moldovan, Slovakian, Azerbaijani and Czech Republic counterparts and delegation leaders of Sweden, Lithuania and Armenia.

The topic of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration desires was discussed heavily by Margvelashvili and other world leaders, as was improving security in the region and Georgia’s progress ahead of signing the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union (EU).

During his meeting with Slovakian President Ivan Gasparovic, Marvelashvili stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between Georgia and Slovakia. The Georgian President then thanked his Slovakian colleague for supporting Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Within the conversation Gasparovic invited the Georgian leader to officially visit the Slovak Republic.

Margvelashvili also met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev yesterday. The sides discussed the relationship between the two countries and focused on the projects being implemented jointly by Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Both leaders noted the level of cooperation should deepen in political, economic and humanitarian fields. Margvelashvili also mentioned Aliyev’s future visit to Georgia.

After that the Georgian President met his Czech Republic counterpart Milos Zeman. The main topic discussed were Georgia’s integration into NATO and the EU, and the steps Georgia had made in preparation for these events.

It was noted the Czech Republic's legislative and executive Government strongly supported Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

President Margvelashvili with his Czech colleague Milos Zeman.

Margvelashvili thanked his colleague for his support and said Georgia could learn from the Czech Republic’s "practical experience” as the country embarked on integrating with the EU and NATO.

The leaders noted the bilateral relationship and said future cooperation should develop in the direction of politics, economy, education, agriculture and security. The sides also discussed regional issues including the situation in Ukraine.

Margvelashvili’s next meeting with Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister Jan Bjorklund covered similar topics, particularly the countries’ bilateral relationship and the importance of enhancing the cooperation within the frames of the Eastern Partnership, which Margvelashvili believed would help Georgia’s integration process, strengthen the country’s democratic institution, improve freedom of the media and help form a dynamic and pluralistic civil society.

The meeting ended when the Georgian President thanked the Swedish official and noted that the Kingdom of Sweden, as the co-author of the Eastern Partnership, played a special role in Georgia’s European integration.

Later in the day Margvelashvili met with the President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite and discussed the relationship between the two countries. The leaders’ noted how important it was to speed up the signing of the Association Agreement for Georgia. Margvelashvili thanked his Lithuanian counterpart for the support of Georgia’s territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic integration.

The last official attended by the Georgian President yesterday was with the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. The sides discussed bilateral cooperation and the importance of continuing this relationship in the future.

At the end of the first day of official meetings, the various delegation leaders were invited to a working dinner at the Presidential Palace of the Czech Republic. The President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman addressed the guests with a speech where he mentioned the importance of the Eastern Partnership Summit and positively evaluated the first day of the event.

Georgian President on a working dinner in the Presidential Palace of Czech Republic.

After the dinner President Margvelashvili and other guests, including European Commissioner Stefan Fule, attended a concert dedicated to the visiting delegations.

Margvelashvili will continue attending official meetings at the Eastern Partnership Summit today.

The Eastern Partnership is a foreign policy initiative of the EU, which comprises of six of the EU’s eastern European neighbours; Azerbaijan, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The partnership provides the possibility to renew the legal basis of the EU relations with the eastern neighbours by means of replacing the acting agreements on partnership and cooperation with the Association Agreements and creation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTA).