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The News in Brief

Thursday, March 21
Georgia at Dusseldorf wine show

On March 24-26 Georgia will participate in the ProWein Wine Fair in Dusseldorf, Germany - one of largest in Europe. Together with the National Wine Agency, 12 companies will be represented at Stand B52 in Hall 6. David Kirvalidze, Minister of Agriculture of Georgia, is planning to attend the event.

In recent years Georgia has been an active participant of ProWein. In 2013, the following companies will be present at ProWein: Besini, Georgian Wine Corporation, Georgian Wine Association, JSC Corporation Kindzmarauli, JSC Telavi Wine Cellar, JSC Teliani Valley Wine, Kakhetian Traditional Winemaking, Kakhuri Ltd, Schuchmann Wines, Tbilvino, Tiflisi Marani Ltd, Wine Man Ltd. and Winery Khareba Ltd. They will be showing dozens of wines including unique and indigenous wines. Tasting of Georgian wines will be opened at the Georgian stand.

In the framework of the wine fair, press conference with David Kirvalidze, Minister of Agriculture of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili, Chairman of National Wine Agency, and representatives of the Georgian Wine Association will be held on March 24, at 11:00 AM. This high-level event will provide the media with an exclusive insight into the Georgian wine industry (Hvino News)



European Wrestling Championships underway in Tbilisi

Some 500 men and women wrestlers from 47 European countries on Tuesday started their annual championships in the Georgian capital city. It was the first time Tbilisi hosted the European Wrestling Championships.

A total of 21 gold medals including seven for women disciplines will be distributed in the course of six days. Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is the patron of this year’s European championships, which feature men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman style and women’s wrestling.

Georgia, a traditional nation of wrestling, collected one gold, three silver and two bronze medals from last year’s European championships. Russia finished atop all participating countries at last year’s championships with five gold, two silver and eight bronze medals, followed by Ukraine with a medal tally of four gold and as many silver and three bronze.

Azerbaijan and Armenia, also won gold medals at the 2012 European championships. (NZweek)



Azerbaijani, Georgian, Turkish FMs to meet in Batumi

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey will hold the second trilateral meeting in Georgia’s Black Sea resort town of Batumi on March 28, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze discussed details of the upcoming meeting during talks with her Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on March 19.

During her two-day visit to Baku, Panjikidze also met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Also on March 18, President Aliyev met separately with Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, who was also visiting Baku.

“The head of state stressed that the relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia were at a good level in all areas, including the area of defense,” the Azerbaijani President’s press office said, noting that the cooperation between the two countries both bilaterally and in international organizations had good traditions. (Civil.Ge)



Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the CoE approves Georgia’s self-governance reform

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe approved the self-governance reform planned in Georgia, the press service of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia reports. The congress says in its document that the new government showed its will for decentralization after the 2012 parliamentary elections.

The congress says in its recommendations that significant progress should be made for increasing decentralization, independence of self-government and accountability that should be achieved through institutional and legislative changes. (IPN)



Minister of Finance to meet with “Asseco Group” Representatives

Minister of Finance of Georgia Nodar Khaduri met with the representatives of the Asseco Group on Wednesday. InterPressNews was informed by the Ministry of Finance, that the Asseco Group is a Polish company working in the information technology field. The company’s representatives arrived to familiarize themselves with the investment climate in the country– in particular, in information technologies. (IPN)



International Day of Francophonie celebrated on March 20, 2013

The Embassy of France in Georgia, French Institute, Swiss Embassy and every Georgian Francophone celebrates the International Day of French language and Francophonie on March 20, together with the other half a billion Francophones around the world. This event began in 1998 as a way for the then 49 members of La Francophonie to celebrate their common bond, the French language, as well as their diversity.

Teachers and professors of French at schools and universities and French speaking students were welcomed at the Teachers Professional Development Centre to attend award ceremony of French competitions carried out under the umbrella of the International Day of Francophonie. (The Messenger)