2018-08-24
Official visit of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany to Georgia has ended today. Mamuka Bakhtadze, Prime Minister of Georgia and David Zalkaliani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia bid farewell to Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany at Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport.
Head of the Government of Georgia labeled the visit of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany as being historic and noted that truly significant negotiations were held within the scope of the visit. Among the topics discussed were the bilateral relations, integration of Georgia to the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO).
"Germany is our loyal supporter, our friendly nation. I wish to express my enormous gratitude to Madam Chancellor. She is indeed a great enthusiast of Georgia. We spoke about very critical topics of principle importance, which are related to the Russian aggression, occupation of our country, internally displaced people, catastrophic humanitarian situation witnessed in the occupied territories. We have a very important achievement on our quest to EU and NATO integration. We have defined goals for strengthening this cooperation, approximating Georgia with EU to a greater extent. You may well be aware that we are working on a very important document. It is a Roadmap, which entails a greater approximation of Georgia with EU. We are also aiming to further accelerate our integration with NATO. We have a lot to do and we conceptualize this. However, we have friends, who will help us achieve these goals in the shortest period of time" stated the Prime Minister of Georgia.
In the opinion of the Head of the Government of Georgia, economy is equally important, as improvement of economic competitiveness of Georgia is clearly a very important precondition for our integration with EU and NATO.
"We have full support. Our new policy, covering the achievement of inclusive economic growth in Georgia, support of small and medium enterprises (SME), start-up capital reform and many other initiatives. At the same time, we spoke about regional cooperation, very important projects that envisage energy security, supply of additional resources to the EU market. Georgia has a unique role in this. We also spoke about energy independence of Georgia. I wish to use this opportunity and thank the German Government and KfW for signing a crucial agreement for the construction of a natural gas storage facility in the country. It is a very important project, which ensures a greater energy independence. We spoke about other significant projects aimed at the development of transport corridors. You may well know that Georgian Railway JSC and Deutsche Bahn AG are very important partners. It is very good that interest is growing from German companies towards Georgia. It is essential to augment the superb and massive progress achieved between Germany and Georgia with a subsequent economic cooperation. Once again, I am grateful to Madam Chancellor, country and people of Germany for the continuous support of Georgia since the very first day of its independence. We will by all means achieve our goals with support of our friends" concluded the Prime Minister of Georgia.
Prime Minister's Press Office