Foreign Affairs Committee to meet with Georgian counterparts

The Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence will meet tomorrow at 9:45am in Committee Room 1, Leinster House.

In a two part meeting, the Committee will first engage with members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Republic of Georgia, before moving on to a meeting with Mr David Turner of Church in Chains to discuss a report on the persecution of Christians in India.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Committee Chair, Brendan Smith TD said today,

“Tomorrow, the Committee will meet with members of the Georgian Foreign Affairs Committee to discuss security challenges in Georgia and the wider European region and Georgia’s aspirations for membership of the EU. Ireland has strong bilateral relations with Georgia and tomorrow’s engagement provides an opportunity for our two committees to discuss issues of mutual importance.”

“Church in Chains published a report last month which refers to a “dramatic upsurge” in attacks on Christians in India by “Hindu militants” in the past two years, amid the rise of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism). Our engagement with David Turner will allow us to discuss serious incidents of religious-based persecution, a significant human rights issue. Church in Chains raises awareness of the persecution of Christians worldwide and can provide the Committee with important information on religious-based conflict across the globe.”

Watch proceedings live here

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