UK Foreign Secretary: Georgia is a successful model in the region
On the 30th of March, 2016, the British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond arrived on an official visit to Georgia. According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, at the beginning of the visit, the Head of the British Foreign Office honored the memory of those who died for the territorial integrity of the country. Then he held meetings with the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament and the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, as reported by Ekho Kavkaza.
"We attach special importance to your visit in Georgia and regard it as strong support for our country," the Georgian Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, said after the meeting. He expressed confidence that this visit will give new impetus to the cooperation and further expansion of the relations between the two countries. Special attention was paid to the necessity of further development of the economic cooperation and the importance of British investments in Georgia.
Philip Hammond, for his part, noted that the UK considers Georgia as a significant international partner and regarded as an example of a successful country in the region. He confirmed that his country would continue to support the sovereignty, the European and the Euro-Atlantic integration of Georgia. Hammond stressed that Georgia is an independent state and must have the ability of sovereign choice, without the influence of outside forces.
Together with the Georgian Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister of Great Britain visited Rustavi and inspected the construction project of expanding the South Caucasus gas pipeline, which provides gas ti the company British Petroleum. Philip Hammond also spoke at the Forum of Young Politicians of the South Caucasus, organized by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, according to the portal Georgia Online.