The United Kingdom and Georgia have signed an agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation in London today, pledging to maintain their ties after Brexit.
The agreement, signed by the Georgian Foreign Minister, Davit Zalkaliani, and the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and First Secretary of State, Dominic Raab on October 21, will come into force after the UK leaves the European Union. However, both countries will subsequently need to ratify the document.
According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, it will replace the EU-Georgia Association Agreement in bilateral UK-Georgia relations. The document covers a wide range of issues, creates “the legal framework for strategic partnership,” as well as ensures that the free trade regime between Georgia and the UK is preserved.
Minister Zalkaliani welcomed the signing of the bilateral agreement, saying it would establish “a solid basis” for shaping UK-Georgia “post-Brexit relations and for further boosting it”.
Attach great importance 2 further expanding&intensifying existing strategic cooperation with ?? after BREXIT. I Welcome t/signing of t/bilateral agreement on Strategic Partnership. It will establish a solid basis for shaping our post-Brexit relations & for further boosting it https://t.co/JCceKo9WUe
— David Zalkaliani (@DZalkaliani) October 21, 2019
Georgia’s Ambassador to the UK Tamar Beruchashvili said the new agreement would give UK and Georgia an opportunity to deepen their ties especially in the fields of politics, defense and security, business, trade and investment, as well as education, science and information technologies.
“Georgia is the first country from the EU eastern partner states to be sealing such an agreement with Great Britain, which again indicates special strategic importance of our partnership,” Beruchashvili stated.
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