Giorgi Baramidze, the deputy prime minister and minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the Republic of Georgia, paid a working visit to President of Latvia Valdis Zatlers on Tuesday, March 3.
At the beginning of the meeting, President Zatlers confirmed Latvia's support for Georgia's domestic reforms and foreign policy goals, calling on Tbilisi to continue with the work that is being done. The President also asked Baramidze about what Russia is doing in those parts of Georgia that it has occupied, as well as about the steps which Georgia is taking in terms of reforms that are needed in advance of further integration into NATO and the European Union.
Baramidze thanked the President for Latvia's support, saying that Georgia very much welcomes co-operation between the two countries. The deputy prime minister spoke about the situation in Georgia in the wake of the conflict with Russia, about what his government plans to do to improve the situation, and about reforms that have been launched in the economic and social arena, including the process of developing democracy.
In discussing the situation related to the Georgian-Russian conflict and the ongoing military presence of Russia in Georgia, President Zatlers praised Tbilisi for signing a memorandum of understanding with the mission that the EU has dispatched to Georgia. He said that this will make it possible to reduce tensions in the conflict zones. President Zatlers also called on Georgia to work harder on enhancing mutual trust, as well as to observe all obligations and promises that are of importance in terms of enhancing the country's credibility.
The President also confirmed that the European Union will continue to support democratic reforms in Georgia and that it will be actively involved in the search for peaceful settlements to conflicts and for ways in which the security situation in Georgia can be improved. Latvia's embassy in Georgia serves as the contact point for NATO in that country, and Latvia will be an active supporter of Georgia's attempts to join the alliance, the President said.
Giorgi Baramidze was born in Tbilisi in 1968. He is a 1992 graduate of the Georgian Technical University, where he earned a degree in chemistry. He has studied security and defence economics in Germany, as well as diplomacy at Georgetown University in the United States. Mr Baramidze entered politics in 1991, and as a leader of the Unified Democratic Party, then in opposition, he was an active participant in the 2003 Rose Revolution. In 2003 and 2004 he was Georgia's interior minister. In June 2004 he became the country's defence minister. In December of the same year, Mr Baramidze was appointed deputy prime minister and minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
President's Chancery
