Georgian PM starts Brussels visit
By Sabina Idayatova
Georgia's new Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili on Monday started
his first official foreign visit to Brussels during which he is due
to hold talks with senior European officials.
Ivanishvili is reportedly accompanied by Foreign Minister Maya Panjikidze, State Minister for European Integration Alexi Petriashvili and Defense Minister Irakli Alasania during his three-day visit.
"This visit is an opportunity to highlight the long-term commitment to the European Union's stability and development of Georgia," Panjikidze said.
"The fact that Mr Bidzina Ivanishvili pays his first official visit to Brussels is a clear sign of our government's orientation to the West," she told Reuters.
Panjikidze also noted that the issues high on the agenda of the planned meetings are broad.
According to Panjikidze, during a meeting with representatives of the European Union and the European Commission discussions will include the association agreement, visa regulations and free trade between Georgia and the EU.
Relevant agreements are to be ready by the end of next May, Panjikidze added.
During his visit to Brussels Ivanishvili is due to hold talks on Monday and Tuesday with the head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Füle, President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, and President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy.
On Wednesday, Ivanishvili is to meet with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
The Georgian prime minister will also meet with representatives of the Georgian diaspora in Belgium.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is also scheduled to hold meetings in Brussels over the next two days, his press office said.
President Saakashvili will meet in Brussels with the European Council head and the European Parliament president.
Before visiting Brussels, Saakashvili will participate in a session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Prague on Monday. Saakashvili had received a special invitation of NATO chief Rasmussen to attend the event, the president's administration said.
The Georgian president is expected to deliver a speech at the plenary session.
On the sidelines of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Saakashvili has met with US congressmen in the Czech capital.
The Georgian delegation said the meeting discussed issues of Georgia's integration into NATO and European institutions.
Saakashvili informed the congressmen of the developments in Georgia after the October 1 parliamentary elections, which were won by Ivanishvili's opposition coalition Georgian Dream. He also talked about the progress the country is achieving on the path of its European integration.
Later, the Georgian president attended a reception in honor of the participants of the NATO PA session hosted by the Czech parliament.