Press Advisories

22. 2. 201621:26

PM Sobotka holds talks with Georgian PM Kvirikashvili on the development of reciprocal trade and cooperation between Georgia and the EU

On Monday 22 February 2016, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka met the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, at Straka Academy as part of his two-day official visit to the Czech Republic. The main items on the agenda were the development of reciprocal trade and cooperation in the field of investment, relations between Georgia and the European Union, and latest developments in the Southern Caucasus.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka spoke with Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili on the strengthening of cooperation between Georgia and the European Union under the Eastern Partnership programme, and welcomed Georgia’s progress in domestic political reform.

The Prime Ministers also discussed the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU, laying the ground for the further deepening of Czech-Georgian trade cooperation. Georgia is a land of opportunity for Czech companies in areas such as the modernisation of the railway infrastructure and public transport vehicles, the upgrading of hydropower plants, supplies of agricultural technology and the food-processing industry.

The international issues covered by the Prime Ministers included the latest migration trends, the situation in the Southern Caucasus and the conflict in the east of Ukraine.

In 2014, Georgia and the EU signed an Association Agreement, envisaging more extensive political dialogue with the EU, the continuation of the EU-backed reform process, and the formation of a free trade area.

Georgia is one of 10 priority countries in the transition cooperation programme maintained by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has supported NGO projects grappling, for example, with the development of civil society, stronger local government, and women’s rights. In twinning projects, Czech institutions share their experience of areas such as employment services and environmental protection with Georgian partners.

A Georgian Prime Minister last visited the Czech Republic in 2011. The most recent official visit by a Czech Prime Minister to Georgia was in 2007.  The Georgian Prime Minister was accompanied on his visit by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy and Sustainable Development, Dimitri Kumsishvili, and the Agriculture Minister Otar Daniela. The delegation of the Czech Prime Minister present at the meeting included the Minister for Industry and Trade, Jan Mládek, and the Minister for Agriculture, Marian Jurečka.