Today, the delegation of the State Agency of Religious Issues, consisting of the Chairman of the Agency Zaza Vashakmadze, Deputy Chairman Giorgi Ukleba and Protocol Manager Gvantsa Tskhovrebadze, was hosted by the Chairman of the State Committee on Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mubariz Gurbanli and Deputy Chairman Gunduz Ismailov.

The issues of bilateral cooperation in the field of religion were discussed at the meeting. Mubariz Gurbanli stressed the quality of interaction between the state and religious organizations in Azerbaijan and expressed the desire to further deepen bilateral relations.

The Chairman of the  Agency was interested in the law on religion in force in Azerbaijan and in sharing the experience of Azerbaijan in this field. Zaza Vashakmadze raised the issue of registration of the Georgian Orthodox Church in Azerbaijan as a diocese, granting it a status, as well as increasing the number of Orthodox clergy on the territory of Azerbaijan.

The Chairman of the Agency especially noted the relations established between the ethnic Azerbaijani and Georgian representatives of the Muslim community of Georgia and said that against the background of religious controversies in the modern world, the relationship between Shiite and Sunni Muslims in Georgia is xemplary and distinctive.

According to Mubariz Gurbanli, Georgia is a friend and strategic partner of Azerbaijan, whose sovereignty and territorial integrity are supported by Azerbaijan and Georgia pursues a similar policy towards Azerbaijan. Readiness was expressed for the signing of a joint memorandum between the State Agency for Religious Issues and the State Committee on Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was also decided to sign a memorandum between the theological schools of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The meeting was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of Azerbaijan Zurab Pataradze, the Ambassador's Adviser Giorgi Buachidze and the staff of the State Committee on Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan.