Czech Minister of Justice meets Prime Minister, Justice Minister
Pavel Blažek, the Minister of Justice of the Czech Republic, visited Georgia on 18 October to meet with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and sign a joint declaration with his counterpart, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze.
Meeting with Prime Minister
The Georgian Government’s press service reported that during their meeting, PM Garibashvili and Minister Blažek discussed bilateral cooperation and the two countries’ “willingness to further deepen existing cooperation and political dialogue…”
In that context, the Czech Republic’s support for Georgia’s institutional, socio-economic transformation and reforms on its path to European integration was emphasized.
While on the subject of European integration, the two sides brought attention to Georgia’s European perspective and the Czech Republic’s important role in continuing to support Georgia’s aspirations as the country which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The conversation also focused on the first summit of the European Political Community which was held in Prague at the beginning of October. According to Prime Minister Garibashvili, the summit “is of special importance and will contribute to unifying efforts to ensure peace and stability on the European continent.”
Meanwhile, the Czech Ministry of Justice said that during the meeting Minister Blažek confirmed that “he [Prime Minister Garibashvili] can count on support from the EU and that he [Blažek] understands the political and geopolitical situation and context.”
Meeting with Counterpart
As part of their meeting, Minister Blažek and Minister Bregadze signed a joint declaration on bilateral cooperation between the two Justice Ministries.
The document envisages cooperation in the field of justice reform and support for digital governance, promoting the alignment of local legislation with EU legislation, effective management of the penitentiary, probation, and crime prevention systems, as well as strengthening legal mutual assistance.
Minister Bregadze emphasized the importance of establishing bilateral relations towards strengthening human rights protections, continuing reforms in the Justice Ministry, digitalizing state services, increasing accessibility, and progress on electronic governance.
The two sides also discussed Georgia’s path to European integration and its efforts in fulfilling the necessary reforms for EU candidate status.
Minister Blažek remarked, “We discussed a lot of interesting things. First of all, how Georgia is fulfilling the conditions for accession to the European Union. Georgia is trying very hard, and I am happy to pass this information on to the relevant Commissioner in Brussels.”
As part of his working visit, the Czech Minister of Justice also visited the Rustavi men’s prison located near the capital Tbilisi. While there, he reviewed existing conditions within the framework of the extradition agreement between Georgia and the Czech Republic.
The Minister said he was “glad that the conditions in Georgia are the same as the requirements of the European Union for prisons.” “Extradition procedures can continue successfully because Georgia, in my opinion, meets all the conditions it should meet for this purpose,” Minister Blažek added.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
