Presidents of European Council, Moldova, Ukraine to visit Georgia next week
The 17th Batumi International Conference will host the panel participants in person, while the audience will be welcomed virtually. Photo: batumiconference.ge
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President of the European Council Charles Michel and the presidents Moldova and Ukraine Maia Sandu and Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Georgia to participate in the Batumi International Conference beginning on Monday, July 19.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili says Batumi International Conference is ‘a very good platform and opportunity to exchange, share our progress’.
"When I listen to [Georgian] politicians, they seem to care and think about nothing but their own interests. Their policies have nothing in common with our national interests, I regret to say. In fact, it is tragic. But it is what it is. It is reality, and we must accept it and look reality in the eye, but we also must change it. The fuss and speculations we have seen are absolutely groundless. As you know, Mister Charles Michel is about to visit Batumi to attend our conference, Georgia's European Way," PM Garibashvili underlined today in his comments to Georgian media.
We claim to have accomplished a lot over the past eight years, including toward EU association, free trade, visa-free travel, and many others. Suffice to say, I personally, our team, and Georgian Dream as a whole, have done a lot to strengthen relations with the EU”, PM Garibashvili told journalists today.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has tweeted:
I’m happy to welcome @eucopresident, @ZelenskyyUa and @sandumaiamd for the #LeadersMeeting in the framework of the #BatumiInternationalConference.
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) July 16, 2021
Charles Michel, who will arrive in Georgia after his visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan, will hold separate and joint meetings with the Georgian and foreign officials, which will be followed by press conference.
The European affairs and European integration are the key themes of the upcoming conference, which will be held in a hybrid format due to ongoing pandemic.
Meanwhile, the main spotlight is on the ‘upgraded level of cooperation’ between the three EU Associated Partners – Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – ‘recently formalized as the Associated Trio’.