Zaza Vashakmadze, Chairman of the State Agency for Religious Issues, Giorgi Ukleba, Deputy Chairman, and Gvantsa Tskhovrebadze, Protocol Manager, met with Vagif Aliyev, First Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The First Deputy Minister of Culture noted with satisfaction the long tradition of relationship established between the two countries and stressed that these relations became especially strong after the two countries gained independence. Vagif Aliyev expressed gratitude to the Georgian state, where ethnic Azerbaijanis have created all the necessary conditions for cultural life and development.

Zaza Vashakmadze thanked the First Deputy Minister for the hospitality and noted that the cultural sphere is of special importance for strengthening relations between the two friendly countries. The chairman of the Agency said that against the background of the ongoing religious controversies in the world, Georgia is a country characterized by tolerance, where Shiites and Sunnis pray in one mosque. He also touched upon the state-implemented project "State Language for Clergy", which facilitates the integration of the Muslim community, as well as annual funding to compensate for the material and moral damage caused during the Soviet period and the process of transferring mosques. The Chairman of the Agency focused on the restoration of Georgian schools, cultural monuments and churches on the territory of Azerbaijan.

In response, the Deputy Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan said that the historical friendship between the two countries is truly exemplary and he will try to promptly resolve the issues raised by the Agency.

The meeting was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of Azerbaijan Zurab Pataradze, the Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of Azerbaijan Revaz Sakvarelidze and the staff of the State Committee on Religious Associations.