The newly appointed Minister of State for Europe and the Americas at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom Christopher Pincher said that the UK will remain an important ally and supporter of Georgia, reported agenda.ge.

Minister Pincher made the remarks during a phone conversation with the Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani on 6 August. Zalkaliani hailed the bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Georgia and the United Kingdom in a number of spheres and expressed his hopes that their ties would become even more dynamic after Brexit. Zalkaliani spoke of the importance of the annual Wardrop Strategic Dialogue as well, which brings together key elements of UK-Georgia bilateral relations.

The Wardrop Strategic Dialogue is an institutionalized negotiation format which brings together key elements of UK-Georgia bilateral relations; from political, defence and security, economic and trade ties as well as people-to-people relations. Each year, the two delegations talk about progress and discuss potential areas of future cooperation. The last dialogue took place on 8 November 2018 between Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and former UK Foreign Minister Sir Alan Duncan. Discussions focused on bilateral trade and economic ties, Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration, people-to-people relations, and ongoing reforms and challenges in the region, cybersecurity issues, Georgian sovereignty and the importance of the UK Good Governance Fund in strengthening state institutions and the democratic development in Georgia.

The two countries are also legally tied to each other through 15 bilateral agreements so far. The agreements are the following:

1) The Joint Declaration of Friendship and Cooperation between the Republic of Georgia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

2)The Declaration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Georgia and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

3) The Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic of Georgia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Unrestricted Freedom to Travel;

4) The Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments;

5) The Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Contacts and Cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of Georgia and the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

6) The Agreement concerning the Rights of Employment of Dependants of Staff of Diplomatic Missions;

7) The Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Education, Science and Culture;

8) The Agreement on International Road Transport;

9) The Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Fight against Serious Crime, Organized Crime, Illicit Drug Trafficking and in Like Matters of Mutual Interest between the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of State Security, the Prosecutor General\'s Office, the Ministry of Tax Revenue of Georgia and the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales, the Serious Fraud Office, her Majesty\'s Customs and Excise, the National Crime Squad and the National Criminal Intelligence Service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

10) The Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Defence of Georgia and the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning the Provision on Loan of a Civilian Defence Adviser;

11) The Agreement Concerning Air Services;

12) The Memorandum of Understanding concerning the Conduct of Military Exercises and Training and the Provision of Host Nation Support;

13) The Implementing Agreement concerning the Provisions of the Host Nation Support to the British Forces during Exercise Georgian Express 2004;

14) The Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital;

15) The Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Georgia for Poverty Reduction Budget Support (Partial Reimbursement of Debt Service Aid).