President of Georgia

10/19/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/20/2021 01:57

Readout of the President’s Meeting with Javier Colomina Piriz, Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus and Central Asia

19.10.2021

Readout of the President's Meeting with Javier Colomina Piriz, Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus and Central Asia

President Salome Zourabichvili met at the Orbeliani Palace with Javier Colomina Piriz, Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus and Central Asia, congratulating him for his recent appointment and expressing her readiness to continue furthering the close relations established under his predecessor. The President briefed the Special Representative on the dire humanitarian situation in the occupied territories, including hostage-taking, the lack of health care access and vaccination, and restrictions on freedom of speech and on the right to education in locals' native language. The President highlighted the significance of high-level visits and public statements made by NATO officials in support of Georgia as indication of the close Georgia-NATO relations, while underlining the importance of the upcoming NATO Summit for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration.

The sides also discussed the security situation in the Black Sea and opportunities for future cooperation with NATO in this regard. Special Representative Colomina underlined that the importance that regional stability carries for the Organization, while the President stressed that both regional stability and Black Sea security are essential for the implementation of joint transportation, communication and infrastructure projects with the European Union. On this regard, Mr. Colomina welcomed the active involvement of Georgia in the process of strengthening security and stability in the region.

The meeting also approached the newly-signed Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Defense of Georgia and the U.S. Department of Defense, with Mr. Colomina calling it a significant success for Georgia.