Georgian FM, Portuguese Secretary for European Affairs discuss ties, cooperation prospects, EU integration
The Georgian official also evoked the current situation in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions and stressed the importance of the support of the country’s western partners. Photo: MFA of Georgia
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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.
Darchiashvili briefed Antunes on the Georgian Government's progress in implementing the European Union conditions for granting the country the bloc’s membership candidate status later this year.
At the meeting with @tiagoant, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, we discussed Georgia's European integration process, as well as the reforms implemented for progressing on this path. We also accentuated the importance of Portugal's support for Georgia. pic.twitter.com/0o6PJHzrO2
— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) July 21, 2023
The top Georgian diplomat also emphasised the significance of granting the country the candidate status and reaffirmed the Georgian Government’s “commitment” to European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
The meeting also focused on the existing situation in the Black Sea region as well as the challenging issues that “Europe is currently dealing with” as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Georgian official also evoked the current situation in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions and stressed the importance of the support of the country’s western partners.
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.
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.
Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, on Wednesday said the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili had assured him the country’s progress in its implementation of the priorities outlined by the bloc for granting it the membership candidate status was “well on track”.
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.