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“Relations between Latvia and Georgia are close and friendly, and Georgia has many friends in Latvia, especially in our parliament”; this was stressed by Solvita Āboltiņa on Wednesday, 12 February, as she and her shadows met with Teimuraz Janjalia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Georgia to the Republic of Latvia.

When welcoming the guest to the Saeima, Āboltiņa said that this was a special day: this is the sixth year that the Saeima is participating in the annual Job Shadow Day, in which young people from all around Latvia accompany state officials in order to learn about their daily work and thus gain a direct insight into their professional lives. Teimuraz Janjalia said that he is honoured to visit the Latvian parliament on such a special day.

The main item of the meeting’s agenda was the upcoming official visit of Solvita Āboltiņa to Georgia, which is scheduled for the end of March. During his visit to Latvia last year, David Usupashvili, Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, invited the Speaker of the Saeima to visit Georgia.

Ambassador Janjalia said that Georgia regards Latvia as a close ally and highly values the support Latvia has given to Georgia. He also pointed out that the Embassy of Georgia is carefully drafting the programme of the upcoming visit in which meetings are scheduled with the highest officials of Georgia -- the President, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Teimuraz Janjalia also stressed that this high-level visit will attest to Latvia’s support of Georgia as a member of the Eastern Partnership.

When discussing the latest developments regarding the Eastern Partnership, the Speaker of the Saeima once again assured Ambassador Janjalia that the Eastern Partnership is one of Latvia’s foreign policy priorities. Speaker Āboltiņa also informed Ambassador Janjalia that one of the most significant events during Latvia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union will be the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga. Speaker Āboltiņa also expressed her gratification that Georgia is one of the leaders among the members of the Eastern Partnership.

The Speaker of the Saeima also noted that in May of this year she and her Baltic and Nordic colleagues are planning to visit Moldova, thus demonstrating their support for Moldova’s aspirations to become a member of the European Union. Ambassador Janjalia emphasised the importance of the Eastern Partnership and assured Speaker Āboltiņa that Georgia is still interested in Latvia’s experience regarding implementation of reforms, especially in agriculture.

During the meeting, both officials also discussed cultural cooperation. Teimuraz Janjalia said that as the Ambassador of Georgia to Latvia, he aims to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries. He mentioned that one of the possible steps in achieving this goal could be donating books about Georgian history and culture to the National Library of Latvia. The Ambassador said that Georgia is taking advantage of Riga’s status as the European Capital of Culture of 2014 to inform the people of Latvia about Georgian culture. 

Photos from the meeting are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157640871328213/
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Saeima Press Service