Foreign Minister Maris Rekstins and Georgian Foreign Minister sign Protocol on strengthening co-operation between foreign ministries

On 2 July, Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins met with the Foreign Minister of Georgia, H.E. Grigol Vashadze who was on an official visit to Latvia.  During the meeting, Foreign Ministers of Latvia and Georgia reviewed the current issues of bilateral co-operation, topicalities of the EU-Georgia and NATO-Georgia co-operation, the security situation in Georgia's separatist regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, including the results of the current round of the Geneva talks concluded on 1 July, as well as other important bilateral and international topics.

When discussing the bilateral co-operation between Latvia and Georgia, Minister Riekstins rated highly the dynamics of the relations between the two countries which has increased in intensity over the recent years as well as emphasized Georgia's special place in the foreign policy of Latvia. "The relations between Latvia and Georgia enjoy a favourable climate and an example to this is the Protocol on Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, signed today, which is to enhance co-operation between the foreign affairs sectors," Mr Riekstins noted.  

In the discussion, a special focus was placed on the topical European Union-Georgia and NATO-Georgia agendas. In the EU context, Foreign Minister Riekstins invited Georgia to take the most advantage of the opportunities provided by the Eastern Partnership and offered an active assistance on the part of Latvia in this process. Thereupon, the ministers agreed on the necessity to organise this autumn the political consultations between the Foreign Ministries of both countries.

During the discussion on the current security situation in Georgia and in the region as a whole, both Foreign Ministers shared the opinion on the negative implications of the non-extension of the mandates for the United Nations Observer Mission (UNOMIG) and the OSCE mission in Georgia and acknowledged the significance of the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) for normalising the security situation and for a peaceful resolution of the Georgian conflicts. Regarding this, Foreign Minister Riekstins reiterated his discontent about the fact that commitments on which an agreement was made last autumn are still not fully observed. The Georgian Foreign Minister, Grigol Vashadze, expressed gratitude for Latvia's strong support to date on these issues of importance for Georgia, especially during the Russia-Georgia military conflict.

During his official visit, the Georgian Foreign Minister will meet with the President of Latvia, Valdis Zatlers, and Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis as well as make a visit to the Saeima.

This is already a second official visit to Latvia by a Georgian Foreign Minister within less than a year. The previous visit took place on July 11 last year, when Latvia welcomed the then Foreign Minister of Georgia, Eka Tkeshelashvili.

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