Georgian, French presidents announce ‘new era’ in bilateral relations
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, February 21
Georgian and French Presidents met in Paris on Tuesday and stated that a new era has started in the two countries’ relations.
President Emmanuel Macron praised the French-born Georgian counterpart Salome Zurabishvili and her previous service for France as a diplomat and signed a new declaration with Georgia.
The declaration of Dimitri Amilakhvari Georgian-French high-level political dialogue aims at developing and deepening Georgia-France cooperation in political and parliamentary areas, defense and security, trade and economy, culture and education.
The presidents believe that the declaration will open a new page in the French-Georgian relations.
The meeting focused on prospects for advancing Georgia-France bilateral relations and strengthening France’s support for Georgia in multilateral cooperation formats.
Zurabishvili said that Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations and favorable geopolitical location promote Georgia’s further cooperation with France in politics, trade-economics, defense and security, education and culture.
She underscored that ten years passed since the Russian-Georgia war and despite Georgia’s irreversible progress, the country is still occupied.
“The Russian-Georgian conflict poses a serious threat to Europe's security and stability, as well as to Georgia’s further development,” Zurabishvili said.
Macron said that France will always stand by Georgia.
“France continuously supports Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders,” Macron stated.
Zurabishvili invited Macron to Georgia and the French President accepted the invitation.
