Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Saturday discussed the close, friendly relations and fruitful strategic cooperation, based on common European values and interests, with his French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné.
At an introductory meeting, held within the framework of the Munich Security Conference, Darchiashvili congratulated Séjourné on his appointment as the FM and expressed readiness for close cooperation with him.
Good opportunity to meet with my French colleague @steph_sejourne . Fruitful coop in various fields and prospects for its further development were the core topics of discussion. Focused on ???????? ‘s historic achievement on the EU accession path, which is a clear recognition of the… pic.twitter.com/7C7Fb3gn9M
— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) February 17, 2024
The sides highlighted Georgia's progress on the path to joining the European Union and the historic decision of the European Council to grant the country the bloc’s membership candidate status in December 2023, the Foreign Ministry said.
Darchiashvili emphasised the country’s work to implement the recent recommendations by the European Commission for opening accession talks with the EU and thanked the French side for supporting Georgia’s European aspirations.
"À mon homologue géorgien Ilia Dartchiachvili, j'ai rappelé que la France était aux côtés de la Géorgie dans son chemin européen.
— France Diplomatie???????????????? (@francediplo) February 17, 2024
Nous avons également échangé au sujet des relations stratégiques qui lient nos deux pays."@steph_sejourne #MSC2024 pic.twitter.com/yd5rlAmQli
The Georgian diplomat expressed hope that France, as “one of the leading countries” of the EU, would continue to support Georgia on its path to accession to the bloc.
The conversation also touched on the positive dynamics of the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries, with the FMs highlighting the significance of the Dimitri Amilakhvari French-Georgian dialogue format, named after the legendary Georgian officer and national hero of France, to further deepen the relations.
At the end of the meeting, the parties once again confirmed their readiness to promote the further strengthening of relations between Georgia and France.