Belarus Will Be a Very Reliable Friend for Georgia

Belarus intends to deepen relations with Georgia in various areas and become a reliable friend for the country. This was stated by the chairman of the "Association of Human Rights Defenders" of Georgia, lawyer, director of the TV company "Sezoni" Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, Sputnik reports.

Mzhavanadze personally learned about Belarus' plans for rapprochement with Georgia from the new ambassador Nikolai Rogashchuk at the celebration of Belarus' Independence Day on July 3. At the event, Mzhavanadze and the head of the Eurasia Institute Gulbaat Rtskhiladze were presented with jubilee medals "80 years of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders".

"In his speech, Rogashchuk said that Belarus seeks close relations with Georgia and will continue to take steps towards rapprochement. I can say with confidence that Georgia will have a very reliable friend in Belarus. The ambassador also noted the importance of developing trade and economic ties, tourism, etc.," Mzhavanadze said.

Commenting on the appointment of Deputy Chief of the Presidential Property Management Nikolai Rogashchuk as the Ambassador of Belarus to Georgia, President Alexander Lukashenko noted on May 22 that relations between Minsk and Tbilisi had improved. "Our relations have improved. I am very pleased that this has happened. Georgians treat us very well. They value our people very much," Lukashenko said.

Georgia and Belarus established diplomatic relations in 1994. Relations between the two countries began to develop rapidly after 2015, when Lukashenko first visited Tbilisi on an official visit.

There is a visa-free regime between the countries, and Tbilisi and Minsk are connected by direct flights. The Georgian Embassy has been operating in Minsk since 2008. In December 2016, the Belarusian Embassy opened in Tbilisi. Mikhail Myatlikov became the first ambassador.

According to Mzhavanadze, Belarus is an example of how to create an economically strong country with trade ties with Russia.

"Today, Belarus is a strong, prosperous state that has good relations with Russia, and if we had also improved relations with the neighboring country, then the development of the Georgian economy would be much faster," he noted.