Davit Zalkaliani: Charles Michel's visit is a clear confirmation that the EU stands by Georgia as its most important partner in the region

According to the Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Davit Zalkaliani, the visit of the President of the European Council has a special importance against the background of the challenges in the region.

According to him, the visit of Charles Michel is also an unequivocal confirmation of the fact that the European Union stands by Georgia as its most important partner in the region.

"This is especially important in the light of the recent visit of EU High Representative Joseph Borrell to Moscow, where the situation in the region, including the Georgian-Russian conflict, was also discussed," - Zalkaliani said.

According to him, the visit will focus on the new threats and challenges that Georgia and the region face; the situation in the occupied territories of Georgia and the frequent facts of human rights violations and other provocative actions. According to him, Charles Michel also plans to visit the occupation line during the visit.

"The focus will be on increasing the EU involvement in the peaceful settlement of the conflict, as well as in ensuring security on the ground, which is of particular importance given the new realities and circumstances in the region. In this regard, it is important that Charles Michel visits the occupation line", - he said.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, during the visit, the priority directions of Georgia-EU relations and the prospects of deepening cooperation will also be discussed. The visit will aslo focus on cooperation within the Eastern Partnership and issues of preparation for the summit scheduled for this year.

"Naturally, we will discuss the pandemic situation. As you know, the European Union has provided significant assistance to Georgia, both directly in fighting against Covid-19 and in dealing with its socio-economic challenges. EU support and solidarity is important in the process of equal distribution of vaccines in general, and in obtaining the required number of vaccines, and this visit will naturally be important in this regard as well", - the minister said.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the visit, the President of the European Council will hold meetings with senior officials of the Georgian government - the President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister. According to the Ministry, a meeting of Charles Michel with the leaders of political parties is also planned. As Davit Zalkaliani noted, the meetings will focus on the current political situation in the country and ways to overcome it.

"The Georgian government is interested in moving the political process into a constructive framework, in a dialogue mode. This has been repeatedly voiced at all levels, and our partners from the EU support dialogue and the constructive development of the process", - Zalkaliani said.

Levan Gurgenidze - Progressing Towards Transparent and Fair Elections in Pakistan: Mapping the Course for Democratic Advancement
Azerbaijan’s energy resources as one of the key elements of Europe’s energy diversification
George Katcharava - On the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine, there is no alternative to Georgia’s EU and NATO membership to ensure our national security and prosperity