2017-03-28
From now on, Georgian citizens will enjoy visa-free travel in the Schengen Area, which is a result of our joint efforts, the Georgian Prime Minister stated after today's meeting with his Greek counterpart. Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Alexis Tsipras made joint statements and described the details of their meeting.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili emphasized the symbolism of this visit to Greece on such an important day for Georgia, and stressed the centuries-old friendship and partnership Georgia shares with Greece. According to him, it is equally symbolic that Georgia signed the EU Association Agreement during Greece's Presidency of the Council of the EU.
"Today's visit has yet another symbolic meaning. In Athens, we are accompanied by Georgian students, the country's future generation. The benefits offered by visa-free travel in the Schengen Area will bring prosperity and development to them and every Georgian citizen, including our compatriots in Georgia's occupied territories. I am convinced that this generation has a great future, and they will worthily continue the country's development, which will undoubtedly lead to our full and ultimate return to the European family," the Prime Minister emphasized.
According to Giorgi Kvirikashvili, visa liberalization is a significant incentive for continuing successful reforms and positive changes in Georgia. He also stressed the obligations related to visa-free travel, pointing out that Georgia is taking a number of steps to ensure compliance of Georgia citizens with the visa-free travel rules.
"To this end, an intensive awareness campaign about the rights and obligations stemming from visa liberalization is in full swing. Our unchanging goal is to continue active reforms in order to introduce best European standards and norms in the country through the implementation of the Association Agreement, which is the Georgian Government's top priority," the Prime Minister stated.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili also congratulated Greece on its Independence Day. According to Kvirikashvili, 2017 also marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Greece.
According to the Prime Minister of Georgia, the need to maintain top-level political dialogue and prospects of deeper relations were also discussed during the meeting.
"We stressed the need to have greater sectoral cooperation, especially deeper economic relations. In this context, the potential of cooperation between our countries is quite big, so we plan to make an all-out effort to excel in this direction. I would like to single out education, science, and culture as the fields of especially productive cooperation between Georgia and Greece. We have a solid cultural foundation to enhance our relations and deepen our partnership. The first step in this direction will be the meeting of the Commission for Bilateral Cooperation, which will be held here, in Greece, this May, that will lay the foundation of a substantially, qualitatively new far-reaching type of cooperation between Georgia and Greece," the Prime Minister of Georgia said.
The Prime Minister of Greece once again congratulated Georgia on visa liberalization, expressing his hope for even deeper relations between Georgia and Greece.
"Welcome to Greece! The Prime Minister of Georgia is the first Georgian citizen to visit the Schengen Area after the completion of visa liberalization. It is symbolic that he chose Greece as his first destination, which we certainly appreciate. Now Georgian citizens can enjoy visa-free travel to Greece, a Schengen Area member state. It will promote the development of tourism, and it is a great achievement in Georgia-EU relations, of course. The Prime Minister and I discussed Georgia-EU relations. We will always be consistent in our support for Georgia's European aspirations, and we will continue to play an important role in this direction," Alexis Tsipras stated.
Prime Minister's Press Office