Georgian and Russian Politic al Experts Meet in Tbilisi

• Tuesday, July 31, 14:37

Tbilisi. The center of cultural interrelations "Caucasus House" held in Tbilisi series of meeting of Georgian and Russian political experts in the framework of the project "Georgian-Russian Dialogue for Peace and Cooperation" on July 23-29.

                A group comprising per eight Russian  and Georgian young experts  met with representatives of Georgian state departments at the level of deputies ministers (MFA, the Ministry of Energy  and Natural Resources, the Ministry for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the Ministry for Reintegration), with representatives of NGOs, independent experts. Besides, the joint discussions were held.

"These meetings are the first out of the cycle of analogous meetings in the framework of the project, which is being implemented with the British government's financial support", "Caucasus House" Executive Director Giorgi Kanashvili said.

                According to him, four thematic groups, comprising representatives of the Georgian and Russian parties, have been formed in the framework of the project. "The first group consists of political experts, the second - economists, the third-journalists, the fourth group - human rights defenders. A final conference with participation of all participants of the project will be held in Tbilisi or Batumi after the meetings in the capital of Georgia", Kanashvili noted.

                According to the "Caucasus House" director, young political experts have been invited to participate in the meetings as  they have no stereotypes, think in another way, more courageously than political experts of the "older generation", who have been tied by the past  or firmly established models of conduct. "Over 100 applications for participation in the project were accepted, we selected participants of the contest basis, taking into consideration their professionalism and quality of work", Kanashvili noted.

Kanashvili said that the participants' opinions and other materials would be disseminated as a final document, different articles and recommendations for Georgian and Russian parties. "We will send these documents to different official departments, NGOs, the press", Kanashvili promised. Besides, the web-site will be created to exchange opinions, publish articles of the participants of the project and other authors about Russian-Georgian relations and the situation  in the North Caucasus.