Georgia opens embassy in Riyadh

Georgia, a country located on the crossroads of western Asia and eastern Europe, has opened its embassy here in the Saudi capital to further promote bilateral relations.
The opening of the embassy will greatly contribute to the strengthening of Georgia’s ties with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
“Giorgi Janjgava has been appointed as the first ambassador of Georgia to Saudi Arabia, and was therefore present on the inauguration ceremony of the embassy on Wednesday,” a press statement released by Georgian Foreign Minister Maya Pandzhikidze said.
Osama Nugali, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not be reached for comments at this time.
Referring to the opening of the Georgian mission, the statement released by the Georgia Foreign Ministry said that “the opening of the embassy in Saudi Arabia was an important step toward developing relations and economic cooperation with the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.”
The embassy and the Georgian ambassador based in Riyadh will be accredited to Oman, Bahrain and Yemen, it added.
The Kuwait-based Georgian Embassy’s mandate was to serve Saudi Arabia too before opening the mission here, said a diplomatic source.
As a young nation, Georgia declared its independence on April 9, 1991 shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Muslims represent 10 percent of the total population of the country.