Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev arrived in Tbilisi on his official visit to Georgia, a media statement from the Council of Ministers press office said on November 15.

This is the first Bulgarian visit at prime minister level since the proclamation of Georgia's independence in 1992 and the first visit of the prime minister of an EU member state after the unrest in the country.

Stanishev will meet Georgian prime minister Zurab Noghaideli, president Mikheil Saakashvili, deputy chairman of the Georgian parliament Mikheil Machavariani and representatives of the opposition. He will deliver them the EU message to carry out honest and democratic presidential elections. A requirement for this is the quick abolition of the state of emergency in the country as well as the guarantee of media independence.

Stanishev will discuss with Georgian officials the means to raise bilateral commerce and economic cooperation, the intensification of contacts between the separate ministries, as well as Georgia's aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration.

Stanishev will lecture students of Tbilisi University on the new perspectives before the Black Sea region after Bulgaria's accession to the EU.