Georgian President highlights strong Georgian-Serbian ties, shared values during visit

During his first official presidential visit to Serbia, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili emphasised the deep mutual respect between the Georgian and Serbian peoples, highlighting common values and shared historical approaches to defending national interests.

In his remarks, Kavelashvili expressed his gratitude to the President of Serbia.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude to the President of Serbia, Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, for the warm, businesslike, and partnership-oriented meetings”, he said.

The President noted that, although Georgia and Serbia had long supported each other, this was the first visit at the presidential level.

“The most important point is that this is the first visit of the Georgian President, even though our countries and our peoples have long been supportive of each other. The Serbian and Georgian people highly value one another. Just as we appreciate Serbs in Georgia, they appreciate Georgians and Georgia here. Of course, it is a matter of pride for any Georgian to see such respect from the representatives of another nation. We share many things in common, including faith and values. Considering national interests, the methods of struggle that these people have used for centuries are almost identical to those the Georgian people employ”, he noted.

Kavelashvili further emphasised that the high-level meetings discussed deepening relations in various areas.

“As for practical cooperation, as we announced at the joint press conference, a commission meeting on trade and economic issues is planned soon. We discussed agriculture, which is of great interest, as well as military production. It is also worth noting the flights scheduled from Belgrade three times a week. The planes are almost fully booked on both sides. I am confident that these relations will deepen across multiple areas, primarily trade and economic relations, but also other fields. We also addressed culture, sports, and educational exchanges. Additionally, closer cooperation regarding youth is planned. Our youth programs already have connections, and we plan joint camps so that Serbian youth can come to Georgia and vice versa”, the President said.

He also mentioned that the meetings covered challenges related to the European Union.

“As for political challenges, we discussed those as well. We aim to maintain a unified approach regarding the European Union. Both countries consider themselves part of Europe, and the double standards often applied from Brussels toward us and the Republic of Serbia are unfair. In this respect, there is significant alignment, and we support each other and share a common view. We believe our countries deserve greater respect”, he continued.

Kavelashvili emphasised that Georgia consistently appears in international rankings, a trend that will continue.

“Yesterday, President Vučić also noted that we are one of the outstanding countries in terms of economic progress. Not a week or a month passes without Georgia appearing in international rankings in various areas - transparency, government performance, judicial system, economic growth, and so on. This process will continue, which we know brings benefits, and countries that act in this way, like ours, highly value these achievements”, Kavelashvili concluded.