Hungarian and Georgian Presidents pledge to deepen ties
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, September 6
President of Hungary Janos Ader, along with the delegation is paying the first official visit to Georgia on September 4-6 and was welcomed by the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia at Tbilisi International Airport.
There was an official reception held at the Presidential Palace. The Guard of Honor participated in the event as well.
Following the meeting, the Hungarian and Georgian sides held meetings in bilateral and multilateral formats and discussed issues such as politics, economics, cultural ties, etc. At the end of the meeting, the Presidents held a joint press conference.
“As far as I know, the president of Hungary has not arrived in Georgia since 1990 and I am honored to be here. I am the first Hungarian President to pay an official visit to Tbilisi. We have very sharp issues in the area of integration and security... Hungary, as before, intends to support Georgia's aspirations for NATO integration in the future”, Hungarian President said at a joint conference with Georgian President.
He also spoke about Georgia's experience and cooperation in the field of thermal waters and in the field of agriculture, as well as in the field of electronic car production.
President Ader also expressed hopes that in the future the Hungarian people will be interested in coming to Georgia, in its culture, wine, and gastronomy.
Hungarian President was thrilled by songs sang Georgian singers, that he had a chance to listen to the previous day. As noted, he promised the president of Georgia, that he will do his best to invite Georgian singers to take part in the festivals that are held in Hungary.
According to the Georgian President, at the meeting, “traditionally,” they first discussed the occupied territories, the situation along the occupation line and the “necessity for the peaceful resolution of this conflict.” In this context, in her remarks, Zurabishvili reiterated her earlier claims on “renewing” the existing Geneva International Discussions (GID), the multilateral forum for addressing the security and humanitarian consequences of the Russo-Georgian War of August 2008.
“All the burdens that our citizens are facing today on both sides of the occupation line is our daily concern,” Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said at a joint conference.
She said Georgia appreciates Hungary's support for our territorial integrity in all formats: “The main issue of my visits abroad and the meeting with the President of Hungary were occupied territories, the situation on the occupation line, the tense summer we spent and the need to achieve a peaceful resolution of this conflict. It requires the involvement of all our partners to achieve our goal. I thank our Hungarian friend for taking part in the EU Monitoring Mission.” She also noted that 14 Hungarians are represented in this mission and emphasized the need for the mission to be able to fulfill its full mandate.
As Salome Zourabichvili noted, Georgia's path to the EU and NATO is unchanged. “It is important how much we receive Hungarian support in this regard. In the EU format, we know that we can count on Hungary to support us at a new stage, which is now starting with a new commission, a new parliament, a new stage of the partnership. Hungary also supports us on the path to NATO integration, participates in the essential package and we hope that at the London Summit Georgia will be able to be represented in the NATO-Georgia format, in which Hungary's support is very important,”-noted the President.
Zourabichvili noted that Hungarian company “Wizz Air” played a big role in Georgian tourism. At the same time, the President underlined the potential of cooperation with Hungary in the field of medical tourism. There was also an emphasis on educational contacts and student exchange programs in Hungary.
The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Archil Talakvadze hosted the President of the Republic of Hungary as well. At the meeting, they discussed political and economic cooperation between Georgia and Hungary. Priority areas were discussed, which emphasized the activation of inter-parliamentary ties.
Talakvadze and Ader spoke about the ongoing electoral and constitutional reforms in Georgia. The Speaker of Parliament introduced to the President of Hungary the essence of the reforms and their importance for the further democratic development of our country.
The meeting also focused on the situation in the occupied territories of Georgia and the dangers arising from the mentioned situation.
After major political meetings, the President of Hungary visited an exhibition of the miniatures on the famous Georgian poem “Knight in the panther’s skin”, created by the prominent Hungarian illustrator Mihaly Zichy.
President of Hungary laid a wreath at the memorial of the fallen heroes in the fight for Georgia's unity and paid tribute to their memory. During his official visit, Ader will also arrive at the occupation line.
