On September 6-7, 2013 Prime Minister of Georgia visited the Republic of Latvia for two days.
On September 6, the first day of his visit, Georgian Prime Minister's meeting with Valdis Dombrovskis was held at the Cabinet of Ministers of the Latvian Republic. At the meeting, Bidzina Ivanishvili emphasized that sharing Latvian experience in European and Euro-Atlantic integration is very important to Georgia. The Prime Ministers discussed the prospects of furthering relations between the two countries in diverse directions. Issues related to the expansion of political relations and cooperation in the fields of economy, culture, energy, transport, and agriculture were also discussed.
After the meeting, the Prime Ministers held a joint press conference, discussing the
details of their meeting and answered journalists' questions.
According to Georgian Prime Minister, Georgia and Latvia share a common historical experience and European values.
"As for our meeting with Mister Dombrovskis, I familiarized him with ongoing developments in Georgia and Georgia's foreign priorities. At the meeting, we discussed important aspects of bilateral and multilateral format cooperation. The importance of the Eastern Partnership and initialization of the association agreement at the Vilnius Summit was also emphasized. Our task is to observe the agenda of European integration and take maximal advantage of the opportunities provided by theEastern Partnership. Despite our successful political relations, the potential of sectoral cooperation between our countries has not 
been used in full yet, especially in the field of economy. I am delighted that within the framework of my first state visit, I have a chance to participate in the Riga Conference," Bidzina Ivanishvili stated.
The same day within the state visit to Latvia, Georgian Prime Minister met with Latvian President Andris Berzins. This meeting, held in the Presidential Palace, was attended by all members of the Georgian delegation. Georgian Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to Latvian President for his firm support to Georgia's territorial integrity in the process of implementation of the policy of non-recognition of the occupied territories. He also expressed his gratitude to Latvia for its active 
efforts in the process of Georgia's integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions and its active participation in the monitoring mission. After the completion of the expanded meeting, Bidzina Ivanishvili and Andris Berzins held a private conversation.
The same day as part of his state visit to Latvia, Georgian Prime Minister's state visit to Latvia continues. At a business dinner held today, Bidzina Ivanishvili met 
with Latvian businesspersons and provided them with information on the business environment in Georgia. The meeting proceeded in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The Latvian businesspersons expressed their interest and willingness to expand business relations with Georgia.
The next day, on September 7, Georgian Prime Minister's visit to Latvia continues. Today Bidzina Ivanishvili met with OSCE Secretary Genera
l Lamberto Zannier. The parties discussed the upcoming presidential election in Georgia. At the meeting, Georgian Prime Minister suggested delegating observers to attend the presidential election.Priorities of Georgia's cooperation within the framework of OSCE were also discussed, including the full restoration of OSCE Mission, participation of OSCE in the Geneva talks, and the current state of affairs in terms of security and human rights in the occupied regions.
As part of his state visit to Latvia, the same day, Georgian Prime Minister met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland. Bidzina Ivanishvili expressed his gratitude to Radoslaw Sikorski for the warm reception during the Prime Minister's visit to the Republic of Poland and for Poland's contribution to the facilitation of meetings between NATO and aspirant states as part of the NATO Foreign Ministerial in April. According to Ivanishvili, meetings in this format will significantly promote furthering practical cooperation between NATO and aspirant states in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration.
After the meeting, Georgian Prime Minister and Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs made comments for the press. According to Radoslaw Sikorski, a decision has already been made to expedite not only the initialization of the Association Agreement with EU (including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement) but the signing thereof as well.
Bidzina Ivanishvili also commented on the same issue and answered journalists' questions.
The same afternoon, within the framework of hid visit to Latvia, Bidzina Ivanishvili and other members of the Georgian delegation also met with Solvita Aboltina, Speaker of the Parliament of Latvia. The parties discussed the issue of furthering inter-parliamentary relations.
Georgian Prime Minister pointed that it is important to promote parliamentary dimensions and create greater opportunities for cooperation between legislative bodies, exchanging visits by parliamentary delegations to this end. Prime Minister also emphasized that a visit to Latvia by Davit Usupashvili, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, is planned to be held in near future.
As part of his state visit to Latvia, today Georgian Prime Minister visited the Museum of Occupation where he familiarized himself with the history of Latvia's occupation. After the completion of the museum tour, Bidzina Ivanishvili left a message in the museum's guestbook.
Georgian Prime Minister's two-day visit to the Republic of Latvia is completed. At the end of his visit, Bidzina Ivanishvili attended the closing session of the Riga Conference.
Prime Minister's Press Service