TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili currently has no specific plan to visit the United States.

However, there visiting the US is on the list of future plans, according to Archil Gegeshidze, Georgia’s new ambassador to the US.

After the Georgian Dream coalition won the parliamentary election in October, 2012, Ivanishvili, who leads the coalition, said that his first visit abroad would be to the US, but five months later, the visit has still not taken place.

few days ago, Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze told DF Watch that there is still not set a date for the prime minister’s visit to the US, but here is ‘permanent contact’ with the State Department and she named examples of other ministers who have recently visited the US.

Ambassador Gegeshidze says the visit is still on the level of intention.

“We are thinking about this and this idea exists and we have a really big desire to implement this,” he said, adding that details like the schedule of the visit, the protocol and some other issues, remain to be determined.

What is clear is that the visit will take place in 2013, according to the ambassador, and this is ‘not an ordinary visit’, but a high level visit which requires time to be successful.


Gegeshidze says the time needs to be selected correctly so that both parties are ready for ‘such a high level visit’, he said, and drew attention to the fact that there recently was an election in the US.

“The new chairmen will put together their staff, and in April there will begin a rotation process of specialists working on Georgia issues in the White House and the State Department,” he said.

In the ideal case, a meeting should be managed with President Barack Obama as well, but it is not always possible.

“Many things will depend on the current situation and how constructively the events of the cohabitation develop in Georgia,” the ambassador said.

The US has set no preconditions for this visit, he added.