Parliament Speaker visits Switzerland

The Speaker of Georgia’s Parliament David Usupashvili is in the Swiss Confederation to discuss Georgia’s strong relationship with Switzerland and explore ways to enhance bilateral cooperation.

Usupashvili and a Georgian Parliamentary delegation were on an official visit to Switzerland, where Georgia’s Parliament Speaker has already met the chairman of the National Council of Federal Assembly Ruedi Lustenberger and discussed ways for Georgian to enhance cooperation with Switzerland.

This was the Parliament Speaker's first official visit to Switzerland and he highlighted the Georgian Government was eager to enhance cooperation with Switzerland in general.

At the meeting Lustenberger affirmed Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Both parties agreed after this visit relations between the two countries would strengthen.

Meanwhile Usupashvili’s meeting with Lustenberger focused on Georgia-Swiss relations and the parties discussed the prospects of future cooperation in a range of sectors, noted a press statement from the Georgian Parliament. The sides stated that cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries was becoming more frequent and fruitful, which they both welcomed.

Usupashvili emphasized Switzerland was a special partner nation for Georgia and had played an "important role" in Georgia-Russia diplomatic relations, where in particular, since March 2009, Switzerland had represented Georgia's interests in Moscow and Russia's interests in Tbilisi. Usupashvili believed Switzerland's relations with Georgia had become closer as a result of this protecting power mandate.

"Switzerland enjoys the confidence of the Georgian people as well as the international community" Usupashvili said.

The situation in the occupied territories of Georgia as well as the challenges Georgia faced on the way of European and Euro-Atlantic integration was also addressed at the meeting.

In this context, Lustenberger said: "It is a tradition of Switzerland to use the country’s diplomatic resources to solve the global issues. It is the right of Georgia to decide the country’s future independently,” Lustenberger said.

Meanwhile, as part of Switzerland’s protecting power mandate for Georgia and Russia, at the end of 2010 the country was asked to contribute as a mediator to settle the differences in the context of Russia's accession to the WTO. These negotiations were successfully concluded with the signing of the Georgian-Russian Customs Treaty on November 9, 2011, and were an important precondition for Russia's accession to the WTO.

At the meeting Usupashvili expressed his gratitude to Swiss politician and president of the Swiss Council of States Filippo Lombardi, who also led the Swiss-Georgia’s Friendship Group, for his support and efforts to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

On another note, Usupashvili also underscored the active work of the two countries Embassies.