Georgian FM reviews partnership, Tbilisi’s EU aspirations with Portuguese officials in Lisbon
Georgian FM on Friday met with the Portuguese Parliament chairperson. Photo: Foreign Ministry press office
Tweet 
Share
Georgia’s Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday reviewed partnership and his Government's efforts to meet conditions for the European Union’s candidacy status with the Portuguese Parliament Speaker Augusto Santos Silva and Zacarias da Costa, the Executive Secretary of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries.
Both meetings in Lisbon highlighted Georgia’s “successful implementation” of the 12-point conditions outlined by the EU last year for granting the country its membership candidate status, as well as “positive outcomes” of NATO’s Vilnius Summit for Tbilisi earlier this month and security challenges sparked by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Georgian foreign office said.
During my visit to Portugal, had an opportunity to meet with @ASantosSilvaPAR, President of the Assembly of the Republic. We spoke about the friendly relations between our countries& highlighted core aspects of???????????????? bilateral coop. We put a special emphasis on ????????'s ???????? integration. pic.twitter.com/StsGPW7HjZ
— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) July 21, 2023
Darchiashvili told the officials Tbilisi was expecting Portugal’s support in the process of obtaining the EU candidacy later this year, and thanked them for their “firm” support for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration and its territorial integrity.
The meeting with the CPLP Secretary also reviewed the humanitarian situation in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions, and cultural ties between Georgia and Portugal, before highlighting Tbilisi’s efforts to promote the Portuguese language and culture through a centre at Tbilisi State University.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and his Portuguese counterpart João Cravinho on Thursday discussed bilateral cooperation, security challenges in Georgia and the wider world and Tbilisi’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili will be in Portugal on a working visit from Thursday to Friday to hold “high-level” meetings with officials of the country’s Government.
The partnership dynamics between Georgia and Portugal and prospects of deepening the existing cooperation were discussed on Monday in a meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Helena Carreiras, the Minister of National Defence of Portugal.
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, as well as the Western Balkans countries, are members of the European family, António Costa, the prime minister of Portugal said on Saturday at the international congress of the Party of European Socialists in Berlin, in which the Georgian delegation is participating.
The cooperation between Georgia and Portugal and Georgia’s European integration were discussed on Friday in a meeting between the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Tiago Antunes, the Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Thursday discussed his country’s agenda for accession into the European Union with Peter Burke, the Minister of State for European Affairs of Ireland as part of his visit to the country.
Georgian and Irish foreign offices on Thursday signed the first memorandum between the bodies, with the document backing the enlargement of the European Union and highlighting Georgia’s “European future”, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.