Zaza Vashakmadze, the chairman of the State Agency for Religious Issues, met with the Chief Mufti of Istanbul, Safi Arpagus.

Safi Arpagus started the conversation by noting that he is closely following the visit of the State Agency for Religious Issues to Ankara and is happy to host the delegation in Istanbul. According to the Chief Mufti, there are 4,328 mosques, more than 300 churches and 36 synagogues in Istanbul, spread across all 46 districts of Istanbul. It should be noted that, apart from Diyanet, none of the ministries and institutions have representative access at the village level.

The chairman of the Agency spoke about the phenomenon of Georgian Islam and on the support of the state to the Muslim community of Georgia. Mufti emphasized that he is impressed by the deep history of tolerance in Georgia and noted that he has not been to Georgia.

The parties expressed their interest and willingness to continue the relationship. The meeting was attended by the Consul General of Georgia in Istanbul, Aleksandre Jishkariani and head of the Legal Maintenance Office of the Agency, Davit Davitashvili.

After the meeting, organized by the Turkish side, the chairman of the State Agency for Religious Issues met with the leaders of Hagia Sophia and Sultan Ahmed (Blue Mosque).