Working visit of Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General to Tbilisi, Georgia, 5-6 August 2025
On 5 August 2025, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, paid a working visit to Tbilisi, Georgia and had a meeting with Mr. Shalva Papuashvili, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia. Mr. Hajiyev informed the Chairman about the ongoing activities of the PABSEC and underlined the valuable contribution of the Parliament of Georgia in promoting regional cooperation within the PABSEC framework. Mr. Hajiyev extended an invitation to the Chairman to attend the 66th PABSEC General Assembly, scheduled to be held in Sofia on 23–25 November 2025 and informed him about the forthcoming transition of the PABSEC Presidency from Bulgaria to Georgia. Discussions also included organizational aspects related to the upcoming 66th Meeting of the PABSEC Committee for Legal Affairs and International Cooperation, which will take place in Georgia at the end of October 2025. Mr. Papuashvili reaffirmed Georgia’s readiness to assume a leading role in the PABSEC Presidency and expressed the country's intention to actively contribute to the Assembly’s future activities.
The meeting was also attended by Mr. Irakli Mezurnishvili, Head of the PABSEC Georgian Delegation, and Ms. Nino Bujiashvili, Secretary of the PABSEC Georgian Delegation.
On the same day, PABSEC Secretary General met with Mr. Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia. Mr. Hajiyev informed him about the current activities of the Assembly and the forthcoming autumn PABSEC Committee meetings. Special attention was given to Georgia’s upcoming assumption of the PABSEC Presidency at the end of 2025.
In the framework of the visit, Mr. Hajiyev also met with Mr. Givi Mikanadze, Minister of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia. The Secretary General presented PABSEC’s initiatives in the fields of science and education, and the two sides discussed the importance of further integrating educational and scientific cooperation across the Black Sea region.
During his visit, Mr. Hajiyev met with Academician Roin Metreveli, President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences (GNAS), and members of the Presidium of the Academy. The Secretary General expressed confidence in the ongoing fruitful cooperation between PABSEC and GNAS. The meeting highlighted the importance of the Second Meeting of the Presidents of the BSEC Academies of Sciences, recently organized in Istanbul by the PABSEC and Istanbul University, as well as the significant role of scientific institutions in fostering collaboration among the Black Sea countries. The President of the Academy informed Mr. Hajiyev that, by decision of the Annual meeting of the Academy, he had been elected a Foreign Member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences and awarded him a Diploma.