“Georgia has great potential and we are ready to cooperate with the country,” said President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson at the joint press conference with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili.
“Thank you, Mrs. President, for hosting us in this beautiful country of Georgia. For a very long time, it was my dream to visit Georgia. I met the Georgian people for the first time in 1990, before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I was teaching at one of the English universities and I met Georgian students there. After that day, my dream was to visit Georgia.
Georgia has great potential and we are ready to cooperate with Georgia. All the aspects you mentioned have been considered by us. When we talk about bilateral relations, we fully support Georgia in this regard. We also welcome the role of Georgia to join the Euro-Atlantic Alliance. We are ready to support you in this direction as well,” he said.
According to the President of Iceland, it is significant to support small countries and to condemn any aggression.
“Iceland and Georgia are very small countries, therefore it is necessary for us that international law is respected. That power is not the most valuable thing in today’s world. Accordingly, Iceland has condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine from the first day and offered to help Ukraine. We received displaced people from Ukraine in Iceland. In this process, we realized that it is necessary to show support to Russia’s neighboring countries and to condemn any aggression,” said Guðni Jóhannesson.
President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, said President Jóhannesson’s visit coincides with a very important time from a geopolitical point of view.
“This time is very important for the European future of Georgia, as well as for the peace and stability of the region and Europe as a whole. By accepting the candidate, Georgia has taken a historic step and is preparing for the equally important step of opening accession negotiations. The current period is very important for Europe, because the future of Europe is decided in Ukraine. The cruel war of aggression must end. and by defeating the aggressor and restoring sovereignty. We discussed the current situation in its humanitarian aspects and agreed that the most important thing today is solidarity with the people of this country. Iceland, as a founding member of NATO, and Georgia, whose goal is to integrate into NATO, share the same spirit of Europe for the strengthening of peace, stability and freedom on the continent. Together we discussed the increased role of security and stability of the Black Sea in the strategy of the alliance. Together with the president, we also discussed in detail the most difficult situation of the occupied territories of Georgia and the current challenge, new steps, the new military base in Ochamchire, which Russia announces as a project, The transfer to Russia represents new aggressive steps towards Georgia and destabilizing steps in the direction of the Black Sea. It is to be appreciated that President Jóhannesson expressed his desire to visit the occupation line and get to know the severe face and consequences of the Russian occupation on the spot,” Zurabishvili said.
She also noted that she discussed relations between the two countries and various aspects of these relations with the President of Iceland.
“We discussed global challenges in terms of climate change, which is the main challenge. This is an area where we can share your experience in this regard, because your country has been involved in this for a long time. I believe that there is a great potential for cooperation between our countries. The president is in Georgia with a business delegation and I am glad that during the visit, representatives of the business sector of Georgia and Iceland will be able to discuss opportunities and set joint goals. Iceland has great experience in managing natural crises, and cooperation is important in this regard. We experienced two great tragedies last year, and the experience is very important for us. We also discussed cultural relations,” Zurabishvili said.
President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson arrived in Georgia for an official visit. He will also meet Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.
