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AGREEMENT
ON CO-OPERATION IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF GEORGIA

The Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of Georgia (hereinafter - the Contracting Parties),

expressing a desire to develop co-operation in the field of education and science

have agreed as follows:

Article 1

The Contracting Parties shall promote co-operation in the field of education and science, in particular, in general, vocational and higher education, as well as in various fields of science. The Contracting Parties shall promote the establishing of direct contacts between institutions of general, vocational, higher education and scientific institutions of similar profile, including:

a) exchange of academic staff and students of institutions of higher education;

b) establishing direct co-operation between institutions of higher education for the purpose of elaboration of joint education programmes;

c) implementation of joint scientific research on matters of mutual interest;

d) co-operation and exchange of information in the field of bilingual education, professional qualification framework, professional standards, labour market research;

e) promotion of exchange of information, knowledge, experience and study materials at all levels of education and expertise in strategic and organizational issues of education;

f) explore possibilities to granting of annual scholarships to students and academic staff of the other Contracting Party for the participation in joint summer schools;

g) co-operation and experience sharing at all levels of education;

h) exchange of information about the Contracting Parties' existing scientific data basis to commence the co-operation in the mentioned area.

Article 2

The Contracting Parties shall consider the following co-operation possibilities:

a) mutual recognition and comparability of education certificates, qualifications, diplomas and degrees pursuant to the effective laws and regulations of each country in accordance with the principles of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European Region of April 11, 1997.

b) maintaining partnership when implementing UNESCO programmes and projects, in particular, the programme "Education for All", the European Union programmes and projects, European Qualifications Framework, European Neighbourhood Policy, Partnership and Co-operation Agreement, the Bologna Process, etc.;

c) co-operation during the implementation of measures and the adoption of innovations (institutional and programme accreditation, quality assurance services) within the framework of educational reform.

Article 3

The Contracting Parties shall co-operate as regards the issues of training and further education, as well as to develop and improve the competence of highly qualified academic staff and experts, to hold international scientific conferences and workshops, to improve scientific potential of higher education institutions, to promote the signing of agreements between educational institutions for the purpose of the exchange of pupils, students of all levels of higher education, teachers, scientists, to improve the quality of teaching and the experience sharing in the field of academic process organization.

Article 4

The Contracting Parties shall, guided by the principle of reciprocity, encourage and promote exchange and co-operation in the field of fundamental and applied research, create relevant conditions for establishment of contacts between scientific organizations, institutions of higher education, scientists, researchers, experts and students from the Contracting Parties' countries.

Article 5

The Contracting Parties shall co-operate in the field of humanities, including joint sociological researches, promote the exchange of experience of pupils and teachers, promote their participation in joint labour, leisure activities and competitions.

Article 6

For the purpose of the implementation of the Agreement, the Contracting Parties shall set up the Latvian - Georgian Joint Commission for discussion of issues related to the implementation of the Agreement, including the co-operation programmes, in which the financial and organizational terms of the co-operation shall be stipulated.

Latvian - Georgian Joint Commission shall meet alternatively in Riga and in Tbilisi. The Contracting Parties shall agree on the place, the time and the composition through diplomatic channels.

Article 7

Any co-operation stipulated in the Agreement shall be jointly financed by the Contracting Parties based upon equal rights and obligations and in accordance with the effective laws and regulations of the corresponding countries and available financial resources.

Article 8

Amendments and additions to the Agreement shall be made upon mutual consent of the Contracting Parties, which shall be formed as a separate document and enter into force in accordance with the paragraph 1 of Article 10 of the Agreement. The document formed thereby, shall constitute an integral part of this Agreement.

Article 9

Any disputes related to interpretation and application of the Agreement shall be settled by means of consultation and negotiations between the Contracting Parties.

Article 10

The Agreement shall enter into force on the day of the receipt of the last written notification through diplomatic channels, by which the Contracting Parties inform each other that internal legal requirements necessary for its entry into force have been fulfilled.

The Agreement shall remain in force for the period of five (5) years and shall be automatically extended for subsequent five (5) year periods unless one of the Contracting Parties notifies the other Contracting Party in writing of its intention to terminate the Agreement six (6) months prior to the expiration of the respective period.

Unless otherwise agreed by the Contracting Parties, the termination of the Agreement shall not affect the programmes, projects and activities already undertaken under the Agreement and not yet completed at the time of such termination.

Done in Tbilisi on 21^st March 2014 in two original copies in Latvian, Georgian and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In the event of divergence regarding the interpretation of the provisions of the Agreement, the text in English shall prevail.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Latvia Minister of Education and Science Ina Druviete

On behalf of the Government of Georgia Minister of Education and Science Tamar Sanikidze