President of the National Assembly of Serbia Maja Gojkovic was on an official visit to Georgia on January 25-26, meeting with the Georgian leadership, including President, Prime Minister and Parliament Chairman.

According to the Serbian Parliament, in Gojkovic’s meeting with Parliament Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze, the two “stressed that Serbia and Georgia enjoy a traditional friendship and good relations,” and agreed on the future intensification of cooperation between the Georgian and Serbian parliaments.

Gojkovic “thanked Georgia for its unwavering principled support and non-recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija, as well as concerning so-called Kosovo’s attempts to join international organizations and institutions,” while Kobakhidze reiterated Georgia’s support for Serbia’s territorial integrity. The two also “emphasized how important it is to abide by international law and the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty of internationally recognized states.”

According to the Georgian Parliament, the speakers of the two legislatures highlighted the two nation’s firm support for each other’s territorial integrity. After the meeting, Kobakhidze stressed that “there has never been a visit to Georgia on such a high level from the Serbian side until now.” He also said Georgia and Serbia shared “common foreign policy aspiration – to join Europe, the European family.”

Mutual respect for the two country’s territorial integrity also featured in Gojkovic’s meeting with President Giorgi Margvelashvili. President’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Tengiz Pkhaladze, said after the meeting that the Serbian parliamentary speaker “reassured the President of Georgia on the firmness of Serbia’s position regarding the matter of its strong and unwavering support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili thanked Gojkovic for Serbia’s support of Georgia’s territorial integrity “on various international forums.” Kvirikashvili also said the Georgian side welcomed the expected visit of the Serbian business delegation to a business forum in Tbilisi, and expressed hope it would promote trade and investment between the two countries.

Gojkovic also met with Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze, and with the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church - Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II.

The Serbian parliamentary speaker’s visit to Georgia comes soon after the Russian-backed Tskhinvali leader Anatoly Bibilov made a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska and met with the local leader Milorad Dodik, which caused a diplomatic protest from Georgia and was denounced by the Bosnian government.