site.btaForeign Minister Mitov, CoE Deputy Secretary General Battaini-Dragoni Pay Official Visit to Georgia

Foreign Minister Mitov, CoE Deputy Secretary General Battaini-Dragoni Pay Official Visit to Georgia

Sofia, May 10 (BTA) - Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni paid an official visit to Georgia, Mitov's ministry said on Tuesday. The visit, on May 9 and 10,  took place within the framework of the Bulgarian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It was intended to present the Council of Europe's action plan for Georgia for the period 2016-2019, adopted during Bulgaria's Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

In Tbilisi, Mitov and Battaini-Dragoni met with the Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, as well as Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze.

In the course of the talks, Mitov and his Georgian counterpart Janelidze underscored the excellent relations between the two countries and confirmed their desire to continue the dynamic political dialogue. "Bulgaria will continue its commitment to the efforts to form a better understanding at European level about the challenges faced by Georgia and its strategic goals," the Bulgarian Foreign Minister said.

 Mitov assured his colleague that Bulgaria consistently supports NATO's open-door policy. "The strategic change in balance in the Black Sea region requires a new strategic view of Euro-Atlantic integration on the part of all candidates. In this context, we firmly support Georgia's membership in the Alliance, as it has made remarkable progress over the years and has proved a reliable partner and ally," he said. Bulgaria values and supports Georgia's efforts to develop good neighborly relations and to consolidate peace and stability in the region.

At the meetings in Georgia Mitov hailed the quick and sustainable progress achieved by Georgia in the implementation of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan. Commenting on energy matters, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister noted that Georgia is an important partner in the implementation of natural gas source diversification and routing for Europe and Bulgaria. He expressed expectations that Georgia will continue its active support and participation in the transit of new quantities of Azeri natural gas to Europe, and from Iran and Turkmenistan in the future.

The official launching of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia (2016-2019) was held within the framework of the visit. The document includes projects that have been or will be carried out by the Council of Europe in Georgia during the period from 2016 to 2019, aimed at promoting co-operation with the government of Georgia towards strengthening human rights, democracy and the rule of law.