Today we are hosting my colleague Amir Ohana, the chairman of the Knesset, the parliament of the State of Israel. Georgian and Jewish people are connected by 26-century-old friendship, and it is these strong ties that create a solid foundation for the development of fruitful and multidimensional cooperation between Georgia and the State of Israel, said Speaker of the Parliament Shalva Papuashvili while talking to the media after meeting with the Knesset Speaker.

According to him, the meeting discussed the cooperation between Georgia and the State of Israel in various fields, including at the parliamentary level, as well as in the areas of economy, tourism, culture and security.

"We appreciate this visit and intensive communication, which took place in the current difficult, challenging geopolitical situation. We are grateful to the State of Israel for supporting Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, policy of non-recognition of occupied regions. We welcome the growing dynamics of high-level visits between our countries in the recent period. The fruitful visits of Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilia Darchiashvili to the State of Israel are particularly noteworthy. Mr. Ohana's visit is a continuation of this positive dynamic and I believe that it will make a significant contribution to the further deepening of relations between our countries," said the Chairman of the Parliament.

According to Shalva Papuashvili, ties between legislative bodies are strong, including at the level of friendship groups.

"The group of friendship with Israel made a visit to Israel about a month ago and held a number of fruitful meetings with the side of the State of Israel. We are ready to further deepen our cooperation. Also, we hope that in 2024, negotiations on signing a free trade agreement will begin, which will create even more opportunities in the relationship between our countries and peoples. At the meeting, we also talked about regional security challenges. We wish stability and peace to Israel and the Middle East region in general. I thank my colleague for the visit, as well as for his willingness to deepen cooperation and friendship," said the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia.