News

Lithuanian deputy foreign minister Mr. Evaldas Ignatavičius during the annual meeting of Lithuania-Georgia Commission for the European and Euro-Atlantic Integration on 13-14 December 2011 encouraged Georgia to ensure the sustainability and continuity of reforms   E. Ignatavičius met with Mr. David Jalagania, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister, and Mr. Giorgi Bokeria, Secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia.

During the meeting D. Jalagania thanked for Lithuania’s consistent support for Georgia's Euro-integration aspirations.

It was stressed during the meeting of the Commission that the joint letter of eight EU foreign ministers to the European Commission, initiated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Audronius Ažubalis, gave a strong impetus for the decisions to enter into negotiations with Georgia on deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DcFTA) next year and the start of the dialogue on visa-free travels.

"Decisions regarding the visa dialogue will be made according to country's readiness and progress in implementation of the agreements on visa facilitation and readmission”- said E. Ignatavičius.

He encouraged Georgia to responsibly start the preparation for the negotiations and to allocate sufficient administrative resources.

During the meeting participants also discussed the bilateral economic relations with focus on the protection of Lithuania’s investments in Georgia.

Four working groups of Lithuania’s and Georgia’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs met in Tbilisi and discussed in detail cooperation on security policy, international organizations, EU integration and bilateral relations. They also discussed an action plan of bilateral cooperation between both MFA’s for 2012.

In the area of security policy, participants reviewed the results of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, that took place last week in Brussels. It was stated that the Communication of this meeting clearly identified Georgia together with other NATO aspirant countries.

In this context, Georgia was encouraged to cooperate closer with other aspirant countries in coordination and sharing of experiences.

On 13-14 December, expert workshop on Georgia's Annual National Programme (ANP) for 2012 was organized in Tbilisi. This document is the main document for cooperation between Georgia and the Alliance, which is discussed in NATO-Georgia Council.

The workshop was organized by the Embassy of Lithuanian, which carries out the functions of NATO Contact Point Embassy in Georgia.