By Liviu Olteanu, PhD, Secretary General of the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty
His Excellency Mr. DAVID ZALKALIANI, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, President of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe, talked with Dr. Olteanu on the AIDLR’ support for the priorities of the Georgian Presidency
Strasbourg, 27th January 2020
H.E. David Zalkaliani, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Georgia, and the President of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe (from November 2019 to May 2020), talked with Dr. Liviu Olteanu, Secretary-General of the AIDLR, during the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe held in Strasbourg in January 2020. The Presidency of the Committee of Ministers is held for a six-month term. The President acts in a neutral way and ensures that the rules and guidelines are respected; the role of the President of the Council of Ministers is also to guide discussions, come with proposals to the vote, and announce decisions taken in session. During their discussion, Dr. Liviu Olteanu expressed the support of the organization he represents, on the agenda of the Georgian Presidency, and its priorities during its mandate, specifically those based on ‘Civil Participation in the Decision-Making Process’ and ‘Strengthening Democracy through Education, Culture and Youth Engagement’. Based on this, the AIDLR Secretary-General offered his expertise in fostering the importance of education and the active role civil society can play on behalf of human rights and democracy, and as a solution in favor of peace for our region. At this meeting, David Zalkaliani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, received from Dr. Olteanu some books from the recently-published ‘Conscience and Liberty’ collection, such as: “Diplomacy and Education for Religious Freedom. The role of preventive diplomacy and education on changing mindsets and fostering sustainable development goals (SDGs)”, “Ambassadors for Liberty, Hope and Peace” and also the Human Rights 2020 Calendar of the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty.
