2018-10-05

As Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze stated after today's meeting with his Moldovan counterpart Pavel Filip, Georgia and Moldova enjoy close friendship and partnership and share common European interests, mutual respect, and similar views on each other.

According to the Georgian Prime Minister, it is rewarding to see the bilateral relations develop in recent years, with Georgia and Moldova productively cooperating in every field serving common national interests.

Mamuka Bakhtadze singled out Prime Minister Pavel Filip's contribution to the recent empowerment of Georgia-Moldova relations and commended the intensification of bilateral relations, as evidenced by the active dynamic of visits.

"Both sides want to maintain this positive trend in the future. We are pleased to see active contacts between various line ministries and agencies of our countries and successful cooperation in justice, law enforcement and tourism spheres. On today's meeting, I once again reiterated our readiness to share best Georgian practice and success stories to our Moldovan colleagues, in case of their interest. At the same time, there is a clear desire of both sides to use the existing potential of our countries and to advance trade and economic cooperation. In this context, I would like to highlight the significance of the first meeting of the Georgian-Moldovan intergovernmental economic commission held in Tbilisi, in 2017. We have agreed to held the second meeting in the nearest future in Moldova," Mamuka Bakhtadze stated.

According to the Head of Government, it is commendable that relations are also developing at the parliamentary level. The Prime Minister commented on the work of the Georgia-Ukraine-Moldova Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi, which will become a regular platform for further strengthening the countries' international positions.

• "Active multilateral cooperation, especially in terms of cooperation with international organizations, is another priority for us. We reiterate importance to continue close interaction within international organizations on the issues of mutual concern. Our countries share common aspirations of the European integration. Becoming a full-fledged member of the European Union is a long declared political priority of Georgia and a clear choice of our citizens. Georgian Government has an obvious and clear-cut goal to achieve maximum integration with the EU by making the best possible use of all existing instruments and frameworks as well as seeking new opportunities. We are implementing Association Agreement, including the DCFTA to achieve deep political association and economic integration with the EU. We believe that mutual experience sharing in this process would be very useful for both Georgia and Moldova," Mamuka Bakhtadze emphasized.
According to the Prime Minister, besides common interests, Georgia and Moldova are facing similar challenges, and both countries need strong and unequivocal support for their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"During the meeting, we discussed Russia's illegal and provocative steps towards the occupied regions of Georgia. 20% of our territory remains occupied by the Russian Federation, and the state of affairs on the ground can only be assessed as a humanitarian disaster. We also discussed peace initiatives of the Georgian Government, which seek ways to stop this humanitarian disaster in our occupied territories and to provide our citizens with new opportunities. Recently, we encountered the most tragic events. One of them was the torture and tragic death of our citizen, Archil Tatunashvili. This tragic event reaffirms the need of establishing international security mechanisms on the ground and access of human rights monitors to the occupied regions as well as the necessity of full implementation of the 12 August 2008 Ceasefire Agreement by Russia, which is a corner stone for the peaceful conflict resolution in Georgia. Georgia will continue the mobilization of the international community to this end and, at the same time, to make sure that those committing this heinous crimes are held responsible by international law. We have a responsibility, and we are committed to peace and Georgia's development. Our efforts will only prove to be effective in combination with international support. In this context, the recent UN General Assembly was especially important, during which we had yet another opportunity to address the international community and provide everyone with the real picture of what is happening in the occupied territories," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Mamuka Bakhtadze thanked his Moldovan counterpart for hospitality, for organizing the GUAM Meeting, and productive discussions, also expressing hope that bilateral cooperation will deepen even further.

"GUAM is a platform that we believe to enable us to join efforts and introduce very important initiatives, also to join efforts to counter the challenges facing our countries and nations and to overcome these challenges in a very near future," Mamuka Bakhtadze underlined.

Prime Minister Pavel Filip of the Republic of Moldova spoke about the high level of development in Georgia-Moldova political and economic relations. According to Pavel Filip, he and his Georgian colleague discussed cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral formats. Pavel Filip thanked Mamuka Bakhtadze for upholding resolutions in support of Moldova.

"Georgia voted in favor of the resolution in support of Moldova, one demanding the withdrawal of Russia's troops from our territories. It is very important, and we believe that Georgia is our friend. We support each other on the path to European integration. Our common path to the EU helps us deepen our relations and suffusing them with greater meaning. We also discussed the conflicts. Moldova supports Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and our stance was reciprocated by Mr. Prime Minister in relation to Moldova's territorial integrity," Pavel Filip said.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova expressed his satisfaction with the fact that, in the nearest future, the two countries' Intergovernmental Commission will hold its next meeting in Chisinau to include business community representatives as its participants.

Prime Minister's Press Office