Within the framework of the Prime Minister’s visit to Austria, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ilia Darchiashvili met with his Austrian counterpart, the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg.

Discussions focused on the growing dynamics in the relations between the two countries, both in bilateral and multilateral formats.

The sides highlighted the importance of the Georgian Prime Minister’s visit to Vienna and the high-level meetings held there, which will upgrade the already close cooperation between Georgia and Austria to a qualitatively newer level.

The European perspective of Georgia was one of the key items of discussions between the two ministers. It was emphasized that granting a European perspective to Georgia was a historic decision whereby the Council of the European Union confirmed that Georgia is part of Europe and Georgia"s future lies within the European Union.

Darchiashvili thanked his colleague for his principled position on, and support for Georgia’s European aspirations. According to him, Georgia will actively work to fulfill the European Commission’s recommendations and will deliver on all obligations regarding its reform agenda.

The Ministers exchanged views on the situation in the occupied territories of Georgia, as well as on the increasingly deteriorating security environment in the region due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Alexander Schallenberg reaffirmed his government’s unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.

The sides also focused on the successful Georgia-Austria partnership in many areas. Special mention was made of the need to use to the full the great potential of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.