News

A meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the countries forming “New Group of Friends of Georgia” will take place on 13-14 September in Vilnius.

This is the first time when the meeting of “New Group of Friends of Georgia” is organized in Vilnius. The meeting will be attended by Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gela Bezhuashvili, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekūnas, Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Artis Pabriks, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Anna Fotyga, Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Adrian Mihai Cioroianu, Bulgarian Vice-Minister Evgenia Koldanova, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel Schwarzenberg and EU Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby.

Sweden has also expressed its wish to join “New Group of Friends of Georgia”. Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt attends to come to the meeting as well.

In Vilnius “New Group of Friends of Georgia” will discuss the issues that are currently most important to Georgia – namely, issues of  European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

These issues will be discussed with Lithuanian experts of political science and delegates from international non-governmental organizations – The German Marshall Fund of the United States, European Academy Berlin, Program for contemporary Silk road studies, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, etc.

Participants of the meeting will discuss support to Georgia in its efforts to conclude agreements with the European Union concerning facilitated movement of persons and free trade, as well as in its aspirations for NATO membership.

On 14 September Ukrainian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Volodymyr Khandogiy plans to join the ministerial discussion of “New Group of Friends of Georgia” on cooperation between the Baltic and the Black Sea states.

“New Group of Friends of Georgia” was established at the initiative of Georgia in February 2005. The first meeting of the group was arranged on 4 February 2005 in Tbilisi. Delegates met on 9 November 2005 in Bucharest, Romania, for the second time. On 9 November 2006 the third meeting of  “New Group of Friends of Georgia” was arranged in Sophia.

For the attention of the media: before the meeting on 13 September at 3 p.m. photo and video opportunity is planned at the hotel „Narutis“ in Vilnius (Pilies str. 24). After the meeting at 6 p.m. photo opportunity is planned. Media representatives who wish to photograph or film as well as to interview the participants should register by e-mail: media@urm.lt or phone 2362451.