Within the framework of his first official visit to Ireland, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilia Darchiashvili met with the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daithí de Róiste. The sides welcomed the successful partnership between Tbilisi and Dublin, which was manifested in twinning of the two cities. They talked about the need to share their experience in such areas as transport policy, development of historical areas, ecology, other.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin expressed his interest in effective civil services in Georgia and the single-window system of providing services to citizens. The sides noted with satisfaction Georgia’s active participation in the global greening dedicated to Saint Patrick’s Day, which is held all over the world at the initiative of Ireland and plays an increasingly greater role in bringing Georgia and Ireland closer together. At the end of the meeting, the Georgian Foreign Minister invited Daithí de Róiste to Tbilisi.

Ilia Darchiashvili also met with the Chairman of the Irish Senate (Upper House of Parliament), Jerry Buttimer.

At the meeting, the sides noted with satisfaction the friendly relations established between the two countries, including the high dynamics of cooperation between the legislatures of Georgia and Ireland. Ilia Darchiashvili welcomed the consolidated approach of the Irish Parliament to issues related to Georgia, which was clearly reflected in various supporting resolutions and parliamentary hearings. At the meeting, the members of the Irish Senate once again confirmed Ireland"s support for Georgia’s European integration and expressed their readiness to share their experience of EU integration. On his part, Ilia Darchiashvili informed the chairman and the members of the Irish Senate about the process of Georgia"s accession to the European Union and the current progress in the implementation of the 12 recommendations of the European Commission. At the meeting, the geopolitical importance of granting the candidate status to Georgia was mentioned and the hope was expressed that the efforts made by Georgia on the road to European integration will be properly evaluated and reflected in the report of the European Commission.

The meeting was attended by members of the Group of Friends of Georgia in the Irish Parliament. The chairman of the group of friends, Senator Wilson, once again noted that the Irish parliamentarians support the granting of candidate status to Georgia. At the meeting, they reviewed the possibilities of deepening bilateral cooperation in various fields, including tourism, economy and people-to-people relations. The chairman of the Senate of Ireland especially noted the important role of the Georgian diaspora in bringing the two countries closer to each other. The participants of the meeting also reviewed the challenges facing the security environment in the region. Darchiashvili thanked Buttimer for his unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, as well as for the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.