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The News in Brief

Wednesday, September 25
U.S President shows interest in Georgian counterpart’s political future

U.S. President Barack Obama appreciates Mikheil Saakashvili's activity as the Georgian president. Obama said during a meeting with Saakashvili in New York within the public sector support summit that a reformed and democratic society will remain after the Georgian president.

According to the Georgian presidential administration, during the meeting Obama asked about Saakashvili's future plans. "Besides continuing my political activity, I intend to deal with the educational projects in the training of the new political elite of the country and wine makers," the Georgian president added. President Saakashvili thanked his U.S. counterpart for supporting the country and expressed the wish for further support. "This is especially important because today Georgia is occupied," Saakashvili said. "There are great challenges for our country. And I hope that the U.S will clearly support the sovereignty and integrity of our country in the future."

The Georgian President will deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 25. (Trend)



Maia Panjikdize meets Iran’s Foreign Minister

Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Maia Panjikidze met with the foreign Minister of Iran’s Islamic Republic in the framework of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly. The Georgian MFA informs that Panjikidze and Javad Zarif discussed Georgia-Iran bilateral relations. Economic and culture relations were especially highlighted.

“There is a high number of Iranians who are interested in Georgia, not only tourism, but in doing business. Our meeting was introductory too, as Mr. Zarif has been newly appointed”, Maia Panjikidze said. (IPN)



EU meeting in Tbilisi to be dedicated to climate change mitigation consequences

A two-day working meeting will be held as part of 'Clima East: Support to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Russia and Eastern Partnership countries' program.

The politics and climate change legislation in EU will be discussed there.

The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn hotel in Tbilisi September 24-25.

The climate change policy and EU legislation, taking into account the national priorities and interests will be presented. (Trend)



Chinese Ambassador hands over his credentials to Georgian Foreign Ministry

On Monday the Chinese Ambassador to Georgia Yue Bin handed over copies of his credentials to Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia David Djalagania. After the official ceremony, a bilateral meeting was held, the Georgian Foreign Ministry told Trend.

The sides discussed various aspects of close cooperation between the two countries.

The possibilities of further deepening the existing dynamic relationship were also discussed.

Ambassador Yue Bin thanked the Georgian side for the warm welcome.

In turn, Djalagania congratulated the Chinese Ambassador on his appointment and wished him success in his future activities. (Trend)



Georgian delegation attends IT conference in U.S

A delegation of the Georgian Ministry of Justice, headed by Deputy Minister Alexander Burchuladze is on a visit to the U.S, where he is taking part in the annual "Oracle Open World JavaOne - 2013" conference. The event is organized by Oracle - one of the largest software vendors. The corporation holds conferences every year and introduces the private and the public sectors with their own innovations. Together with other participants, the Georgian delegation will have the opportunity for a few days to test new products and get familiarized with their strong and weak points. The organizers have planned a special tour for representatives of the Georgian Ministry of Justice. They will visit the headquarters of Oracle, Google and Apple, as well as Stanford University's Innovation Center. (Trend)



Khatuna Gogaladze meets Armenia’s Minister of Natural Protection

Georgia’s Minister of Environment and Natural Resources protection Khatuna Gogaladze met with her Armenian counterpart. As InterPressNews was told by the Ministry, Gogaladze and Aratunyan discussed environment-related problems and methods for their solution in Georgia and Armenia. The ongoing and future projects were discussed during the meeting. The parties expressed readiness to sign a bilateral agreement for future cooperation. (IPN)



Suspect in Batumi shooting wanted for diplomat’s murder in Abkhazia

A Russian citizen who was detained for shooting a cop in Batumi is suspected of murdering a Russian diplomat in Abkhazia on September 9. According to Russian channel NTV, Yusuf Lakayev is suspected of murdering the Russian envoy to the breakaway republic Dimitry Vishernev.

NTV reports that Lakayev, a native of Chechnya, arrived in Georgia from Abkhazia. He was planning to leave Batumi with the help of two Georgians, who were also detained, and travel to Turkey illegally. All of them are currently being held in pre-trial detention.

Lakayev started shooting at the police after being asked for identity papers. One policeman and a civilian were wounded. The police shot back and wounded Lakayev. (Democracy and Freedom Watch)