On August 10, the chairman of the State Agency for Religious Issues met with the head of the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia, Alexander Vinikov at the Administration of the Government of Georgia.

Zaza Vashakmadze introduced the guest to the activities of the Agency, new projects and especially noted the difficult situation created in the occupied territories. They discussed the current situation in terms of freedom of religion in the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions of Georgia, the facts of persecution and harassment of the Georgian Orthodox Church, restrictions on religious services, as well as the encroachment of religious buildings in the occupied regions by the Russian side and the destruction of Georgian cultural identity in them. The chairman handed over to Alexander Vinikov the publication of the Agency "Occupied Heritage", which clearly depicts the current situation in terms of freedom of religion in the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions of Georgia.

The chairman also spoke about the creation of the Agency, the demographic and ethnic characteristics of the religious communities of Georgia, and the successful projects implemented by the state in the direction of religious freedom. The conversation touched on the financing of religious organizations, the transfer of cult buildings, the trainings carried out within the framework of the Governmental Action Plan for Human Rights and the formation of the format of the inter-religious council.

The meeting discussed the visit of religious leaders to the NATO headquarters in Brussels, organized by the NATO Liaison Office. The Orthodox Church, the Armenian Church, the Catholic Church, the Muslim and Jewish communities participated in this visit. The mentioned meeting was evaluated positively by both sides. The chairman of the Agency proposed the involvement of clergymen of other religious organizations of Georgia in such visits in the future and expressed his readiness for advisory activities in this direction.

Alexander Vinikov thanked the chairman of the Agency for the meeting and the provided information. He positively assessed the activities of the Agency and expressed his desire for close cooperation in the future. He also wished to meet with all the representatives of religious organizations who are the members of Interreligious Council. Alexander Vinikov asked the Agency for help in organizing a meeting with the Patriarch in the Patriarchate of Georgia.

The meeting was attended by Gvantsa Loladze, the political officer of the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia, and Gvantsa Tskhovrebadze, the protocol manager of the Agency.