Georgia–Iran relations

Iran and Georgia have had relations for centuries, although official diplomatic relations between the two nations in the 20th century was established on May 15, 1992 [http://www.mfa.gov.ge/index.php?sec_id=376&lang_id=ENG Ministry of Foreign Affaris of Georgia] ] .

Context

Georgia, throughout its history, has several times been a part of the Persian Empire, specifically under the Achaemenid, Parthian, Sassanid, and Safavid dynasties. Due to this, there has been a lot of political and cultural exchange, and thus Georgia is often considered a part of Greater Iran.

Historical relations

Iran (Persia) and Georgia, or the Georgian tribes, have had relations in different forms starting from the Achaemenid Era through trade. The relationship got more complex as the Safavids took power in Iran and attempted to maintain Iranian control of the the Georgian kingdoms. This continued until Russia conquered the Caucasus in the 1800s from the Qajars.

20th century to present

Until the early 1900s, Iran-Georgia relations were merged into Iran-Soviet relations. Since Georgia's independence from the Soviet Union, the two nations have cooperated in many fields including energy, transport, trade, education, and science. Iran is one of Georgia's most important trading partners and Intergovernmental Joint Economic Commission is functioning between the two countries. [http://www.mfa.gov.ge/index.php?sec_id=376&lang_id=ENG Ministry of Foreign Affaris of Georgia] ]

Ambassadors of Iran to Georgia

*Feraidoun Haqbeen (1993-1996)
*Aqbar Aminian (1996-1999)
*Aboulfazl Khazaii Torshizi (1999-2002)
*Hossein Aminian Toosi (2002-2006)
*Mojtaba Damirchilou (2006- to present)

Ambassadors of Georgia to Iran

*Jemshid Giunashvili (1994-2004)
*Levan Asatiani (2004 – to present)

ee also

*Iranian Georgians

References

External links

* Ali Attār, "Georgians in Iran", in Persian, Jadid Online, 2008, [http://www.jadidonline.com/story/22082008/frnk/georgians_in_iran] .
"A Slide Show of Georgians in Iran" by Ali Attār, Jadid Online, 2008, [http://www.jadidonline.com/images/stories/flash_multimedia/Georgians_in_iran_test/muliani_high.html] (5 min 31 sec).