Georgian FM visits Germany before leaving for France to take over CoE chairmanship
Georgian FM (L) has met with the President of the German Bundestag Wolfgang Schauble. Photo: Foreign Ministry press office.
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Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani is in Germany now, meeting with top German officials, before leaving for France tomorrow where Georgia will take over the chairmanship of the Committee of Minister of the Council of Europe (CoE) between November 27, 2019 and May 15, 2020.
Zalkaliani, who started his trip on Sunday, has already met with the German Bundestag's Defence and Security Committee Chairman Wolfgang Hellmich to discuss Georgia’s NATO integration process and the situation in Georgia’s two Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.
Hellmich praised Georgia’s special contribution to NATO-led peacekeeping operations,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry reports.
Zalkaliani has also met with the President of the German Bundestag, Wolfgang Schauble.
The existing situation in the Russian-occupied territories was given an acute evaluation, as well as the recent illegal detention of doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili,” the ministry reports.
Zalkaliani is scheduled to meet with Heiko Mass, German Foreign Minister and Jan Hecker, Foreign policy and security advisor to the German chancellor.
Assuming the presidency of the @coe Committee of Ministers for the first time, ???????? commits itself to the values for which the Council of Europe stands, by building blocks of democratic development: #HumanRights, #RuleOfLaw, #DemocraticInstitutions and inclusive #CivilSociety. pic.twitter.com/0wlpysP0p8
— MFA of Georgia (@MFAgovge) November 26, 2019
Zalkaliani must be in Strasbourg, France, tomorrow where Georgia will take over the chairmanship of the CoE Committee of Ministers.
While in Strasbourg Zalkaliani will hold meetings with the secretary general of the Council of Europe, the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and, in his capacity as the chair of the Council of Europe, will speak before the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
To celebrate the presidency of Georgia, the Georgian National Ballet – Sukhishvili will conduct a concert on December 3, 2019, in Strasbourg.
Georgia will organize about 20 events during the six months of its chairmanship.
One of the priorities of the Georgian presidency is to promote the interrelationship between human rights and environmental protection, strengthen environmental protection work through the existing programmes and treaties in the Council of Europe, the Georgian Foreign Ministry says.