Spring session: Visit by the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament

The meeting follows on from the official visit to Tbilisi in October 2022 by the former President of the National Council, Irène Kälin (Greens, AG), which Mr Nussbaumer had also attended. Accompanied by a delegation of six parliamentarians, the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament welcomed and thanked Switzerland for fulfilling its mandate as a protecting power (representing Russian interests in Georgia and Georgian interests in Russia).

Mr Nussbaumer and his Georgian counterpart discussed bilateral relations and cooperation, particularly in the area of vocational education and training, the role of parliaments in raising awareness of democracy among young people, and Georgia's importance as a corridor for the transport of goods between Asia and the EU. Given the rise in geopolitical tensions, notably in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the issue of Georgia's security was also addressed. Mr Nussbaumer reiterated Switzerland's support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its willingness to continue to work alongside Georgia to ensure peace and stability in the South Caucasus region.

Discussions with the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Ignazio Cassis; the Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Patricia Danzi; and the Head of the FDFA's Peace and Human Rights Division (PHRD), Simon Geissbühler, gave the Georgian parliamentary delegation the opportunity to learn more about Switzerland's commitments in Georgia and to take stock of the country's future challenges.

On 14 March, the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament also visited the Plantahof agricultural training centre in the canton of Graubünden, which has set up a partnership with an agricultural school in Georgia based on the Swiss model. The visit allowed the Georgian delegation to learn about and exchange views on the Swiss vocational education and training system, the study plan and the work carried out in Georgia by specialists from the Plantahof training centre.