The influential Tbilisi-based think-tank Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS) said on December 13 it has founded a foreign policy consultancy group in cooperation with the Strategic Research Centre (SRC).

The Georgian Council on Foreign Relations (GCFR) will contribute to the improvement of the decision-making process in the area of foreign relations and assist in professional growth of governmental officials and political scientists, GFSIS said.

Alexander Rondeli, GFSIS President; ex-Foreign Minister Irakli Menagarishili; former Georgian Ambassador to Russia Zurab Abashidze; former Georgian Ambassador to the OSCE Giga Burduli; and ex-President’s foreign relations aide Shalva Pichkhadze are among the founders of the Council.