The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, H.E. Shalva Papuashvili, met with the leadership of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), including the President of the Assembly, Ioan Vulpescu, and the Secretary General, Maximos Charakopoulos.

 

Shalva Papuashvili noted that it is a great honor for the Parliament of Georgia to host the spring session of the International Secretariat of the IAO.

 

He also thanked the guests for expressing condolences over the passing of the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia, Ilia II.

 

Maximos Charakopoulos stated that he had the opportunity to meet Ilia II 18 years ago and emphasized his role as a unifier of the Georgian people. He noted that Georgia is an integral part of European civilization, as confirmed by historical facts, and stressed the importance of Georgia’s integration into the European Union as a country with strong Orthodox traditions.

 

According to Shalva Papuashvili, discussions on European values are frequent today, and in this regard, it is important to emphasize the Christian roots of genuine European values.

 

The parties also highlighted the importance of properly reflecting Christian values in parliamentary activities.

 

During the meeting, it was noted that in 2026, Georgia marks the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity. Shalva Papuashvili provided the delegation with information about the planned events. The parties discussed opportunities for cooperation.

 

Shalva Papuashvili stated that Georgia is a committed member of the IAO and is ready for further cooperation.

 

The meeting was also attended by the Head of the Parliamentary Delegation to the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, Irakli Kadagishvili, and a member of the delegation, Zaza Lominadze.