While in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, Kalemli was hosted by his counterpart, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Zurab Zuvania. President Shevardnadze conveyed his congratulations to Kalemli on his recent election and said he was grateful that he had selected Georgia as his first country to visit since becoming speaker of the Parliament. Shevardnadze said his sentiments also reflected those of the Georgian people. Earlier in the day Kalemli, in an address to the Georgian Parliament, said that if the close ties between the speakers of the Parliaments of the two countries were emulated by all deputies and political parties, this would contribute to bringing the two peoples together.
Important responsibilities befall our national Parliaments in the region.
Kalemli went on to tell the Georgian legislators that the development of ties between Turkey and Georgia was not only to the benefit of the two countries but also the region. He said that Turkey today was working to overcome violations of international law in the Balkans and the Caucasus while at the same time was trying to ward off threats to its territorial integrity. Referring also to the importance of oil pipelines in the region for carrying Caspian oil to international markets, Kalemli said that such pipelines going over Georgia and Turkey would bring great political and economic advantages to the two countries. Kalemli, who was accompanied by a group of Turkish deputies on his visit to Georgia, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Tbilisi in the afternoon. Premier-designate Mesut Yilmaz's ANAP on Monday approved the same deal under which Yilmaz will be first in a rotating premiership.