The Chairman of the State Agency for Religious Issues, Zaza Vashakmadze, visited the United States Department of State and met with the Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Mariah Mercer.

The Chairman of the Agency spoke about the reforms carried out by the Georgian State in terms of human rights and freedom of religion, the activities of the Interreligious Council, which, in fact, represents the entire religious spectrum of the country; as well as the issues of transferring religious buildings and financing of various religious organizations from the central and local budgets.

Zaza Vashakmadze paid special attention to the situation in the occupied territories of A/R of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, where fundamental human rights, including religious rights, are grossly violated, the ethnic Georgian population experienced constant discrimination and the Georgian traces were being deliberately erased from the churches and monasteries remaining in the occupied territories. In the same context, the Chairman of the Agency spoke about the trials won against Russia in the Hague and Strasbourg courts. Zaza Vashakmadze emphasized the strategic partnership between Georgia and the United States of America and the need to take relations to a higher level.

One of the topics of the dialogue was to objectively reflect information about Georgia in the annual International Religious Freedom Reports published by the US Office of International Religious Freedom and to strengthen cooperation in this regard.

Mariah Mercer expressed her desire to cooperate in terms of information on Georgia presented in the annual reports on international religious freedom published by the US Office of International Religious Freedom. She also noted that within the framework of cooperation, information would be provided to the leadership, and would certainly be discussed and taken into account the issues raised by the Georgian side to the maximum extent possible.

At the end of the meeting, Zaza Vashakmadze presented Ms. Mercer with the publications of the Agency "Occupied Heritage" and "Religions in Georgia" as a gift.

The meeting was attended by the Acting Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the United States, Khatuna Kveselava, the Counselor to the Acting Ambassador, Sandro Inashvili, Head of the Legal Maintenance Office of the Agency, Davit Davitashvili, and Chief Specialist of the Legal Maintenance Office, Aleksandre Shekiladze.