Georgian Parliament Speaker Meets Saudi King Salman

Georgian Parliament Speaker, Davit Usupashvili, met Saudi Arabia’s King Salman in Riyadh on March 22.

“We had a very cordial and fruitful meeting with King Salman,” Usupashvili said after the meeting, adding it was important that “such an influential country, like Saudi Arabia, is interested in close relations with Georgia.”

“It is noteworthy that King Salman instructed his cabinet members to intensify work with Georgia. He stressed that Georgia will have a support of Saudi Arabia on the issue of UN resolution on refugees,” the Georgian Parliament Speaker said.

He was referring to a non-binding resolution on internally displace persons, which Georgia tables at the UN General Assembly annually since 2008.

Saudi Arabia, which usually was among those abstaining, voted in favor of the resolution in 2014 and then again in 2015.

“It is important that Saudi Arabia is disposed to be even more supportive to Georgia’s territorial integrity and to contribute to Georgia’s economic development,” Usupashvili said.

He also met chairman of Saudi Arabia’s appointed Shura Council, Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, and other officials.

Usupashvili, who was accompanied by chairman of parliamentary committee for foreign affairs GD MP Tedo Japaridze, also met during the visit Secretary-General of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.