Eka Gigauri, the head of Transparency International Georgia, on Friday said the fact that Annalena Baerbock, the visiting German foreign minister, first met with domestic NGOs, was the “declaration of support” to the Georgian civil sector. 

Speaking to the media, Gigauri said the German official thanked the NGOs for their struggle for the country’s fulfillment of the 12-point conditions, outlined by the European Commission last year for granting the bloc’s membership candidate status to Georgia. 

She also cited Baerbock as saying that Georgia “wants and deserves” the status. 

Baerbock is now meeting with FM Ilia Darchiashvili, before discussions with the prime minister and the president. 

Prior to her first visit to Georgia, the German official stressed her trip would focus on the country’s European integration pace amid “attempts” to derail if from the western course “supported by the absolute majority” of Georgians. 

The visit came following large rallies in Tbilisi against the foreign transparency bill proposed by the members of the parliamentary majority, strongly condemned as a “Russian law” by the international community. 

The ruling party earlier this month was forced to recall and reject the bill that envisaged the registration of domestic NGOs and media organizations as foreign agents if they obtained more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.