As part of his official visit to the Republic of Italy, Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili held a meeting with his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani, during which the signing ceremony of the Declaration on the Establishment of a High-Level Dialogue between Georgia and Italy took place.

According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, at the meeting the ministers reviewed in detail the issues of cooperation between the two countries and welcomed the signing of the Declaration on High-Level Dialogue, which will bring the existing relations to a qualitatively new level and contribute to their deepening.

"At the meeting, the ministers paid special attention to the agenda of Georgia's European integration and the progress made in this direction. The efforts and steps taken by the Georgian government to obtain candidate status were reviewed. It is noteworthy that at the meeting Italy underlined its support for Georgia's aspirations and noted the importance of granting Georgia candidate status.

Ministers reviewed the security situation in the region. Italy noted its growing interest in the region, both from a political and a commercial point of view.

" With regard to bilateral relations, the existing economic relations between Georgia and Italy were reviewed, the growing rate of Italian investments and Italian companies in Georgia was positively assessed, and the interest in making efforts to bring the business communities of the two countries closer together was expressed. The ministers also welcomed the active cooperation between the countries in the field of culture and people-to-people relations," the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

For his part, Tajani wrote on his personal Twitter page: "Together with the Foreign Minister of Georgia, we signed today important agreements that will strengthen our bilateral relations and deepen cooperation in the field of science and culture. We support Georgia's European path and its territorial integrity".

As part of his European tour, Ilia Darchiashvili will attend the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union on 24 April. The Minister will attend the meeting together with high-ranking representatives of the European Union and Foreign Ministers of the Member States.

"The main topic of the meeting will be the enlargement of the European Union and the prospect of Georgia's accession, as well as the priority directions of Georgia-EU relations and prospects for deepening cooperation, and the progress made by Georgia in implementing the European Commission's 12 priorities. Within the framework of the visit to Luxembourg, a bilateral meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs with his counterpart is also planned" - says the information released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"As Foreign Minister, I have been invited to Luxembourg on Monday. I will have the opportunity to participate in the format of the Council of Foreign Relations, where Vice-President Borrell, who chairs this Council, and also the 27 Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States are represented. This is really a unique opportunity to share with our European partners the concrete results that Georgia has achieved in the direction of fulfilling the 12 points, the concrete plans that we have to finally complete the work on these recommendations," Darchiashvili argued.