Louisa Kadri: Tbilisi, Georgia 

Georgian Foreign Ministry Wednesday said that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Georgia on November 17-18 and will hold meetings with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, President Salome Zurabishvili, Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, and the Catholic Patriarch of Georgia Elia II.

The ministry said  the visit "once again indicates the strength of the strategic partnership between the United States and Georgia and affirms the two countries' commitment to further strengthening relations."

For its part, the US State Department indicated that Pompeo's last stop in Europe will be Tbilisi, where he will meet with Georgian officials "to express support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to urge further progress in democratic reforms."

According to  the statement of the Georgian Foreign Ministry, this visit provides further evidence that the United States remains firmly committed to supporting Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the country's continued democratic development and European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

The ministry stated that the meetings with senior Georgian officials will focus on the priorities stipulated in the US-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, as well as on prospects for strengthening cooperation in the fields of defense,security, trade, economy, democracy , people-to-people relations ,people’s contacts in addition to education and cultural exchanges.

Georgian Prime Minister Gyorgy Gakharia tweeted that "this visit is a reaffirmation of the high position of the strategic partnership. Within the framework of the visit we will discuss the geopolitical situation in the region in addition to our cooperation in defense and security."