French, Georgian Presidents Meet in Paris
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, who is paying an official visit to Paris, met his French counterpart François Hollande on Thursday.
French president’s office said that “all aspects of bilateral relationship”, as well as implementation of Georgia’s Association Agreement with the EU and situation in the South Caucasus region were discussed; it also said that President Hollande reiterated support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Le président géorgien Guiorgui Margvelachvili a été reçu par @fhollande cet après-midi >>> https://t.co/Pj8DwUB85U pic.twitter.com/xhgMGDIKTY
— Élysée (@Elysee) April 21, 2016
The Georgian President said after the meeting that his French counterpart is a “strong supporter of Georgia.”
Before the meeting Georgian President’s foreign policy adviser, Tengiz Pkhaladze, told Georgian journalists in Paris that Tbilisi has “excellent cooperation in security, economic issues with France, which is providing a serious assistance” in the implementation of Georgia’s Association Agreement. He also said that position of France over Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration “is very important for us.”
During the visit Margvelashvili will also meet President of the French Senate Gérard Larcher.
President Margvelashvili met on April 20 Irina Bokova, Director-General of the Paris-based UN cultural heritage and education body UNESCO.
The Georgian president’s office said that Margvelashvili raised the issue of “violation of education rights of residents living in Georgia’s occupied territories” – a reference to what Tbilisi says is the policy of gradual replacement of the Georgian curriculum with the Russian one for all grades in the Georgian schools of predominantly ethnic Georgian populated Gali district of breakaway Abkhazia.
According to UNESCO the current status of the World Heritage Sites in Georgia was also discussed, specifically the two sites of the historical monuments of Mtskheta, and the Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery, which are currently on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in Danger. The both of the sites will be examined by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session later this year in Istanbul.
