Gov’t Hails Polish, Swedish FMs’ Visit as ‘Clear Message’ Ahead of EaP Summit
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, November 15
(TBILISI) -- Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze proudly pronounced visits by his counterparts from Poland and Sweden days before the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit in Brussels as a “clear signal of support” for Georgia from Europeans leaders.
“I am sure the summit will be a success for Georgia, as well as for the EaP and the EU. The summit will, once again, reaffirm support for Georgia’s European aspirations and will specify the concrete practical steps that will ensure prosperity for our people,” Janelidze said after his meeting with Poland’s Witold Waszczykowski and Sweden’s Margot Elisabeth Wallstrom on Monday.
Janelidze also expressed his pleasure with a recent report by the European Commission that named Georgia as a key regional ally of the EU.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili also thanked Waszczykowski and Wallstrom for their support prior to the summit and for backing Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Speaking on behalf of their respective governments, Waszczykowski and Wallstrom said Georgia is a “leader of the EaP” and will be confirmed as such at the summit in Brussels on November 24.
The United National Movement, the main opposition party in Georgia, accuses the government of not using international platforms effectively to push forward Georgian issues with the country’s Western allies and demanded that the government to be more vocal against Russia to gain more support from the EU member nations and other countries.
The upcoming EaP summit will cover a wide range of topics, including, building stronger economies, strengthening economic development and better market opportunities, as well as enforcing stronger governance and increasing mobility and contacts between people.
Launched in 2009, the EaP aims at promoting political association and economic integration between the EU and six of the former Soviet republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
