MFA

MFA http://mfa.gov.ge/ MFA MFA Information on the consultations of the GUAM Secretary General held in Georgia http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=12045 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=12045 2010-05-10 00:14:07 Mr. Valeri Chechelashvili, Secretary General of GUAM paid a visit to Tbilisi, on May 3-7, 2010, upon the invitation of Mr.David Jalagania, Deputy Foreign Minister, GUAM National Coordinator, with the aim to hold consultations with the Heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Ministries and Agencies of Georgia. Mr. Valeri Chechelashvili, Secretary General of GUAM paid a visit to Tbilisi, on May 3-7, 2010, upon the invitation of Mr.David Jalagania, Deputy Foreign Minister, GUAM National Coordinator, with the aim to hold consultations with the Heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Ministries and Agencies of Georgia. On May 3, during the meeting of the GUAM Secretary General and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia the stressing issues of cooperation within GUAM, as well as perceptions of Georgian side on implementation of GUAM ongoing and elaboration of new projects were discussed. The Georgian side, as the former GUAM Chairman, underlined the importance to timely hold the planned meetings of the GUAM Sectoral Working Groups, as well as high level meetings of GUAM ruling structures (Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and National Coordinators) in the first half of 2010. Herewith, the sides took into consideration the political situation in Ukraine, the GUAM Chairman country from January 1, 2010, as well as recent statements and recommendations of Ukrainian governmental representatives on further development of cooperation within GUAM Organization and urged the expediency to consider the position of Georgian side and proposals on GUAM cooperation urgent issues during the meeting of the Secretary General with the new governmental representatives of Ukraine. On May 3, during the meeting with the Georgian State Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure the GUAM Secretary General underlined the importance of holding successfully the GUAM Working Group meeting on Transport in May 2010 in Baku for further development of transport corridor of the region and more efficient use of the existing potential in this regard. The State Minister found it reasonable to hold the next meeting of the GUAM Working Group on Transport at the level of the relevant Deputy Ministers and fixed the readiness to present several precise project proposals on full utilization of GUAM transport potential. The State Minister also paid attention to existing practice of close cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan Republic in the sphere of transport and expediency and economic profitability of inclusion of the respective structures of Ukraine in this process. On 5 May, during the meeting of the Secretary General with the Minister of Energy of Georgia the issues of ongoing and new regional energy projects were discussed. The Minister of Energy of Georgia expressed readiness to organize and hold the next meeting of the GUAM Working Group on Energy (country-coordinator - Georgia) in the GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv in June this year and personally participate in this event. Herewith, the Minister considered expedient to discus at the meeting the possibility of inclusion of Moldova and Ukraine in the project of delivering the liquefied gas to Europe via Georgia. The discussion was also focused on expediency to elaborate project proposal and consider them at the relevant Working Group meeting in the direction of exploring the potential of alternative energy sources in GUAM region and present this initiative to Japanese side, GUAM partner country, with the aim to use the experience of Japan in this field in case of consent. On May 6, during the meeting of Secretary General with the Minister of Economic Development of Georgia was highly assessed the role of the GUAM Secretariat in preparing the GUAM Joint Tourist project and active participation of Japan in this initiative. The sides supported the proposal to separately present the GUAM tourism potential and the GUAM Joint Tourist product at the Tokyo International Tourism Expo scheduled to be held in September this year. The dynamic of trade-economic cooperation between the GUAM member states was also discussed at the meeting. It was underlined that despite existing hard economic and political situation in the country the trade turnover of only Ukraine with GUAM member states in January-February 2010 composed $427935.3, comparing to the same period trade turnover of 2009 which composed $232302.6. Based upon such data, overall trade turnover within GUAM will reach $4,5 billion by the end of 2010 that in large part is stipulated by the GUAM Free Trade Zone project. However, the possibilities of this project are not yet fully used. The Minister expressed readiness to personally participate at the planned meeting of the GUAM Working Group on Tourism in Baku and actively support to work out new project proposals in the spheres of tourism, trade and economy. On May 7, the meeting between the GUAM Secretary General and Georgian National Coordinator was again held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, concluding the results of the consultations held in the sectoral Ministries and outlined the plan of forthcoming joint activities and organizational events. The Secretary General gave a high evaluation to the readiness of Georgian side to actively contribute to the cooperation within GUAM and maintain the growing trend of development of the Organization started during the Chairmanship of Azerbaijan and Georgia in 2007-2009. Division for Cooperation with GUAM Countries 10.05.2010 Information on GUAM informal meeting held in Budapest http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11709 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11709 2010-03-03 23:15:55 On March 2, 2010 in Budapest, within the framework of the meeting of Eastern Partnership, European Union Troika, Baltic countries and the countries of Visegrad Group, the informal meeting of the Heads of delegations of the GUAM member-states took place. On March 2, 2010 in Budapest, within the framework of the meeting of Eastern Partnership, European Union Troika, Baltic countries and the countries of Visegrad Group, the informal meeting of the Heads of delegations of the GUAM member-states took place. The sides considered issue of further consolidation of GUAM member-states positions in the framework of "Eastern Partnership" initiative. In this regard, the necessity of elaboration of joint projects was underscored for further presentation to the European Union and joint implementation. Issues of on-going cooperation in GUAM format were also discussed during the meeting. Division for Cooperation with GUAM Countries UNODC/GUAM Sub-Regional Workshop http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11604 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11604 2010-02-16 20:42:59 On 15-16 February 2010, the second UNODC/GUAM Sub-Regional Workshop for GUAM Member States on Enhancing International Legal Co-operation Related to Terrorism (Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance) took place in the GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv with the participation of the GUAM Member States' judges, prosecutors and law-enforcement officials and international experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, the USA as well as the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Terrorism (CODEXTER), Eurojust, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch. On 15-16 February 2010, the second UNODC/GUAM Sub-Regional Workshop for GUAM Member States on Enhancing International Legal Co-operation Related to Terrorism (Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance) took place in the GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv with the participation of the GUAM Member States' judges, prosecutors and law-enforcement officials and international experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, the USA as well as the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Terrorism (CODEXTER), Eurojust, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch.Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the state presiding in GUAM, and GUAM National Coordinator Mr. Oleksandr Gorin and Secretary General of GUAM Ambassador Valery Chechelashvili welcomed the participants of the Workshop. The participants exchanged views on the implementation of the universal legal framework as well as Council of Europe conventions related to extradition and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters against terrorism. They overviewed legal tools and practices of the GUAM Member States, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the USA in the field of international cooperation against terrorism as well as the role of Eurojust and the rule of law aspects of extradition and mutual legal assistance. The UNODC/TPB experts presented Mutual Legal Assistance Request Writer Tool and conducted the case studies on the subject. Division for Cooperation with GUAM Countries 17.02.2010 Information on GUAM meetings held in Athens http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11291 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11291 2009-12-01 05:16:14 On 1 December 2009, the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of GUAM, as well as GUAM-Visegrad Group meeting was held in Athens within the framework of the OSCE Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. GUAM meetings were chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze. On 1 December 2009, the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of GUAM, as well as GUAM-Visegrad Group meeting was held in Athens within the framework of the OSCE Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. GUAM meetings were chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze. The meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of GUAM was participated by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of all GUAM member-states. During the meeting the Ministers discussed important issues of ongoing cooperation, political interaction, common activities within the UN 64th Session agenda item 14 on "Protracted Conflicts in the GUAM Area and their Implication to International Peace, Security and Development", sectoral cooperation, relations with partner-countries, as well as issues related to next Chairmanship in GUAM and other organizational aspects. At the end of the meeting the final protocol and concrete Decisions were signed.The same day first GUAM-Visegrad Group meeting was held that laid the foundation for further cooperation between the two regional organizations. The Visegrad Group was presented at the meeting by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Chairing country - Hungary and high rank representatives of the Czech Republic, Republic of Poland and Slovakia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia on behalf of GUAM member states appreciated the Hungarian side for the initiative or organizing the course of seminars with the aim of sharing the experience of Visegrad cooperation to GUAM. The sides discussed the prospects of further cooperation. At the end of the meeting the final communiqué was adopted. 1 December 2009 Press and Information Department Information on GUAM National Coordinators Council Meeting http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11216 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11216 2009-11-18 02:28:34 On 17-18 November 2009, the 18th meeting of the GUAM Council of National Coordinators (CNC) took place in GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv. On 17-18 November 2009, the 18th meeting of the GUAM Council of National Coordinators (CNC) took place in GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv. The drafts of the Agendas and final communiqués of the next meetings of GUAM Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs (CMFA) and with GUAM partner countries (US, Japan, Poland, Czech Republic), scheduled to be held on 1-2 December 2009 in Athens within the OSCE 17th Ministerial Council meeting were discussed and agreed. The GUAM National Coordinators discussed a wide range of issues of cooperation within GUAM, in particular, prospects of development of cooperation with GUAM partner countries and organizations, ongoing sectoral cooperation, achieved progress in the direction of inter-parliamentary cooperation, as well as the next GUAM Chairmanship and other organizational issues.At the end of the meeting the final Protocol was signed. Division for cooperation with GUAM countries Information on GUAM Parliamentary Assembly 4th Session http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11167 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11167 2009-11-09 21:35:22 On 9-10 November 2009 the 4th Session of the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly was held in Tbilisi. The event was hosted by the Georgian side as the Chairman of the GUAM Organization. High level Parliamentary Delegations of the GUAM member states, representatives of different Ministries and Agencies of Georgia, experts, as well as Presidium of the Baltic Assembly, the Parliamentary Delegation of the Republic of Poland and the representatives of the Embassies of the GUAM member and partner countries accredited to Georgia took part at the Parliamentary Assembly Session. On 9-10 November 2009 the 4th Session of the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly was held in Tbilisi. The event was hosted by the Georgian side as the Chairman of the GUAM Organization. High level Parliamentary Delegations of the GUAM member states, representatives of different Ministries and Agencies of Georgia, experts, as well as Presidium of the Baltic Assembly, the Parliamentary Delegation of the Republic of Poland and the representatives of the Embassies of the GUAM member and partner countries accredited to Georgia took part at the Parliamentary Assembly Session. Mr. David Bakradze, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, President of the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly chaired the Session. Important decision and recommendations on development of inter-parliamentary cooperation within GUAM were taken during the meeting of the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly and the 4th Parliamentary Assembly Session itself. During enlarged Session of the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly, Mr.Grigol Vashadze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Mr.Valeri Chechelashvili, GUAM Secretary General and Mr.David Jalagania, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, GUAM National Coordinator addressed the participants along with other high rank representatives. The discussion during the Session was focused on following important issues: - GUAM Geopolitical Environment and its influence on Cooperation in GUAM Format; - Regional security issues in the GUAM area (political, economic, energy, transport, ecology); - Existing conflicts in the GUAM area and their implication on regional and international peace, stability and development; - Prospects of EU-GUAM cooperation; - Prospects of Baltic-Black Sea cooperation; - The role of inter-parliamentary Cooperation in development of regional organizations and regional integration. At the end of the Session the final Communiqué was adopted. The Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia also hosted official reception for the forum participants in the Parliament of Georgia. <a href="http://mfa.gov.ge/files/469_11167_882427_CommuniqueTBil.GUAMPA.doc">Communique on GUAM Parliamentary Assembly 4th Session</a> Information on 11th meeting of the Steering Committee of the GUAM Trade and Transport Facilitation Project (Tbilisi, October 28-29, 2009) http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11125 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11125 2009-10-30 00:50:21 On October 28-29, 2009 the 11th meeting of the Steering Committee of the GUAM Trade and Transport Facilitation Project was held in Tbilisi. On October 28-29, 2009 the 11th meeting of the Steering Committee of the GUAM Trade and Transport Facilitation Project was held in Tbilisi. The high level representatives of the Customs and Border-Guard Agencies of the GUAM member-states participated at the meeting. The participants of the meeting discussed the results of the 10th meeting of the Steering Committee, as well as the issue of further simplification of procedures of movement of goods and transportations means through border cross points. The Georgian side introduced the projects on "risk management" and was requested to prepare the Framework Project on mutual recognition of authorized economic operators of the GUAM member-states for the next meeting. The sides agreed to discuss at the next meeting the issues that impede further development of the GUAM Free Trade Zone. The final Protocol was signed at the end of the meeting. The Protocol on exchange of preliminary information on goods and transportation means passed through the Georgia-Ukraine state border was also signed within the meeting between the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia and the State Customs Service of Ukraine. The next meeting of the Steering Committee of the GUAM Trade and Transport Facilitation Project will be held in the first half of 2010 in Moldova. Division on cooperation with GUAM States 29.10.09 Information on GUAM Working Sub-Group meeting on Combating Terrorism http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11042 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=11042 2009-10-08 23:29:53 On 5 October 2009, the 3rd meeting of the GUAM Working Sub-Group on Combating Terrorism (WSGCT) took place in Baku under the chairmanship of the Azerbaijan side. On 5 October 2009, the 3rd meeting of the GUAM Working Sub-Group on Combating Terrorism (WSGCT) took place in Baku under the chairmanship of the Azerbaijan side. Participants of the meeting took note of the information of the Guam Member States' representatives on counter-terrorism activities of their law-enforcement agencies on the territories of the GUAM Member States; considered the state of the implementation of the appropriate measures envisaged in the 2009 Action of the GUAM Working Group on Combating Terrorism, Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking; agreed GUAM proposals to the new Framework GUAM-USA Program's Project on "Combating Terrorism: Regional interaction and Security"; and discussed issues of the on-going cooperation. The next WSGCT meeting is planned for the first half of 2010 in the GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv. GUAM Division 9 October 2009 Information on GUAM Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting held in New York http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=10978 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=10978 2009-09-25 01:49:22 On 25 September 2009 the Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM was held in New York, within the General Debates of the UN General Assembly 64th Session. Mr. Grigol Vashadze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia was chairing the meeting in the capacity of GUAM Chairmanship. On 25 September 2009 the Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM was held in New York, within the General Debates of the UN General Assembly 64th Session. Mr. Grigol Vashadze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia was chairing the meeting in the capacity of GUAM Chairmanship. The Council of Ministers discussed principal issues of cooperation within the Organization: re-inclusion of the GUAM initiated agenda item of the UN General Assembly on "Protracted Conflicts in the GUAM Area and their Implications on International Peace, Security and Development" in the Agenda of the 64th session and further consultations on relevant draft Resolution; cooperation with GUAM partner countries as well as other countries and international organizations; development of GUAM sectoral cooperation; budgetary and other organizational issues; transfer of GUAM Chairmanship and the issue of holding the next Summit. The Council adopted relevant Decisions: <ul> <li>- on prolongation of Georgian Chairmanship in GUAM until the end of 2009;</li> <li>- on adoption of the GUAM Budget for 2010;</li> <li>- on approval of GUAM sub-project within the GUAM-US Framework Program in the sphere of border control;</li> <li>- on approval of Azerbaijan as the country-coordinator of the GUAM Working Group for Information Technologies.</li> </ul> The final Protocol was signed at the end of the meeting. On September 25 the Council of Ministers also held meetings with GUAM partner-countries in New York, notably, the GUAM-US and GUAM-Czech Republic meetings were held with participation of the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (Ms.Helena Bambasova) and the Assistant Deputy Secretary of State (Mr.Dan Russel). The issues of cooperation in the spheres of mutual interest and the prospects of its development were discussed during the meetings. The Joint Statements were signed at the end of the meetings. <a href="http://mfa.gov.ge/files/469_10977_279506_GUAM–UNITEDSTATESJOINTSTATEMENT.doc">GUAM - UNITED STATES JOINT STATEMENT </a>New York, September 25, 2009 <a href="http://mfa.gov.ge/files/469_10977_627430_COMMUNIQUÉOFTHEGUAM–CZECHREPUBLICMEETING.doc">COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE GUAM - CZECH REPUBLIC MEETING</a> New York, September 25, 2009 Information on 17 meeting on the GUAM Council of National Coordinators http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=10903 http://mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=469&info_id=10903 2009-09-11 19:22:01 On 10-11 September 2009, the 17th meeting of the GUAM Council of National Coordinators (CNC) took place in GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv. On 10-11 September 2009, the 17th meeting of the GUAM Council of National Coordinators (CNC) took place in GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv. Draft projects of Program and Agenda of the next meeting of Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs (CMFA) scheduled for the 25 September 2009 in New York in the margins of 64th UN General Assembly were discussed, and draft of relevant documents were agreed. Also, the Sides shared their views on wide spectrum of cooperation in GUAM format and elaborated respective recommendations.The Sides agreed to hold the next meeting of CNC in the middle of November 2009 in Kyiv. GUAM Division