The President of Georgia met with the Prime Minister of Lithuania Andrius Kubilius, who arrived in Georgia on a working visit, in an informal setting. The President of Georgia and the First Lady of Georgia hosted the Prime Minister of Lithuania and his spouse at their home in Kvareli. Mikheil Saakashvili invited them to taste Georgian wine. Mikheil Saakashvili and Andrius Kubilius spoke about deepening the cordial relations between the two countries even more.
“I am very glad to host the Prime Minister of one of our friendliest countries – Lithuania at my vineyard. This is very important. I bring many leaders and heads of governments here because this helps in popularizing Kakheti and Georgia in general. I want to say that, aside from the traditional bonds between us, we have a historic chance now; next year Lithuania will have the Presidency of the EU. On one hand, this is going to be the time of the end of my Presidency and I think by the end of my term I should finish what I have started and Georgia must sign the association agreement with the European Union. Most importantly, we should definitely sign the deep and comprehensive free trade agreement and visa free travel agreement, or get very close to signing them. There are few closer countries than Lithuania in Europe and the fact that Lithuania will be a chair country will make things much easier. This is the reason we are planning to talk about these topics. Of course, we are grateful to him for all the support we have been receiving from Lithuania all these years, including within the European Union.” – stated the President of Georgia.
The Prime Minister of Lithuania thanked the President of Georgia for the heartfelt hospitality and gave him a special gift – the first Lithuanian official document of international importance, which affirms the territorial integrity of Georgia.
“It is very pleasant for me to visit such a beautiful place and share with you the fact that we have achieved a lot together. The purpose of our visit to Georgia is clear. First of all, I would like to express my solidarity toward your country. I would also like to state that we support Georgia’s territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Next year Lithuania will be the chair country of the EU and this is the time when the negotiations regarding the free trade agreement and visa liberalization will reach the final stage. We will definitely reach this goal. Mr. President, I would like to give you a modest gift. The relations between our countries since the middle ages are organized chronologically in this document. This document is dated 1465; it is written in ancient Slavik languages and Georgia is mentioned in it” – he stated.
Andrius Kubilius has already met with his Georgian colleague Nika Gilauri, and he is scheduled to meet with the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Davit Bakradze, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Grigol Vashadze.