The State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili and the Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs of Ukraine Vadim Chernysh signed a memorandum on mutual understanding and cooperation.

The aim of the memorandum is to deepen strategic regional cooperation between the two sides and formalize bilateral support.

"The parties are willing to enhance and further develop cooperation in terms of conflict resolution and sharing experience and best practices in the field of peace building. Such cooperation will serve their common interests and will facilitate effective solving of existing problems in of peace building and reconciliation process", - the document says.

State Minister thanked Vadim Chernysh and his colleagues for a visit which serves to the sharing the experience of the Government of Georgia in the peace and confidence building issues.

According to Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, Georgia and Ukraine have a common problem - the ongoing occupation and the gravity of the unresolved conflict, which remains a challenge not only for these two countries, but for the whole region and Europe. As she noted, it is not mere coincidence that five of the six Eastern European countries deal with territorial integrity and sovereignty problems.

"The unresolved conflict is a serious problem especially for the population living on the occupied territories. That is why sustainable peace and stability necessarily mean a peaceful resolution of the conflict, which is the most important task of our Government. And before the full resolution of the conflict, the main priority is to take care on people affected by the conflict, create dignified conditions for them and the prospect of a better future.

"Our new peace initiative -"A Step for a Better Future "- is a proof that peace policy is the best answer for the confrontation and existing challenges. It is necessary to take concrete, bold steps and to make appropriate efforts in order to overcome the alienation caused by artificial dividing lines, propaganda or bitter experiences of conflict.

"It is symbolic that the conflicts in Georgia and Ukraine are characterized by many common aspects and peculiarities and in both cases the same author is the creator of the problem. In the current situation the strengthening and deepening cooperation between us, close cooperation in both bilateral format and international arena has special importance", - said Ketevan Tsikhelashvili.

She thanked the representatives of Danish Refugee Council in Georgia and Ukraine and the United States Government for their efforts and said this visit was organized by their efforts. The Memorandum was also attended by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Rudd.

The visit of the Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs of Ukraine Vadim Chernysh will last two days. The aim of the visit is to share the experiences of Georgian government, civil society and donor organizations on peace building and confidence building issues. Today he also visited the village of Khurvaleti along the dividing line.