Austrian Embassy opens in Georgia
By Mariam Chanishvili
Friday, September 23
The Austrian Embassy started functioning in Georgia on September 22. Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Gigi Gigiadze, and Austrian Secretary General for foreign affairs Michael Linhart, as well as the newly-appointed Ambassador Arad Benko, took part in the opening ceremony of the Embassy.
Gigiadze delivered a speech and thanked the Austrian government for opening the Embassy in Georgia. He expressed hope that this step would increase cooperation and the development of economic relations between the two countries.
The newly inaugurated Embassy in Tbilisi will be at the same location as the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) coordinating office, which was established in Tbilisi a long time ago. Before opening the embassy in Tbilisi, Georgian diplomacy was settled in the Austrian Embassy in Azerbaijan.
After the opening of the embassy, Deputy Foreign Minister Davit Dondua held a meeting with Michael Linhart and the Austrian delegation.
The sides discussed bilateral cooperation between Georgia and Austria. In addition, Georgia’s Euro-integration and visa-liberalization process, recent developments with Georgia’s breakaway regions and Georgia’s relations with neighboring countries were discussed.
Michael Linhart expressed his support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and hoped the newly-opened embassy would deepen bilateral relations between Georgia and Austria.
