The Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Suleyman Soylu paid an official visit to Georgia. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia - Vakhtang Gomelauri met with Turkish colleague at the airport and hosted him at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

Parties outlined the close friendly relations between the two countries at the meeting. Suleyman Soylu reaffirmed strong support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, for which Vakhtang Gomelauri expressed his gratitude.

“I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. President and Turkey, for standing by our side, for supporting our territorial integrity. As you are aware, we face problems with regard to the territorial integrity, as 20% of the territory of Georgia is occupied by Russia. Supporting sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country is crucial for us. I would like to emphasize close cooperation between us. We express our readiness to further enhance relations in various directions, including border security, fight against organized crime and cybercrime. We remember how Turkish people always stood by our side and for that, with great respect, I would like to express my gratitude” – said Vakhtang Gomelauri.

“I would like to thank the Minister for his warm hospitality. We had an exceptionally productive face-to-face meeting. We have supported sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia on all platforms, and will continue to do so in the future. This also applies to Ukraine. In such a difficult situation, in order to have a positive impact on the processes in the region, and in general in this conflict, to somehow end it, we are trying to play a role of mediator under the leadership of our president, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan. We are pleased that the government of Georgia and your country also undertake the same position regarding this conflict”- added Suleyman Soylu.

The parties discussed issues of effective bilateral cooperation and future perspectives between the law enforcement agencies of Georgia and the Republic of Turkey. The Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Turkey noted that, taking into consideration the current situation in the region, the particular importance has to be attached to further enhancing bilateral cooperation in the field of law enforcement. The parties underlined the contribution of the police attaches in the development and strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of two states. The Turkish side expressed readiness for conducting working visits and joint trainings in different areas, such as: border protection, fighting against organized crime and cybercrime.