The Bristol-Tbilisi Association held its annual conference on Saturday at Bristol University.

The conference was part of celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of Bristol's twinning with Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and addressed a range of issues, including the recent political unrest in the former Soviet state.

Dr Ruth Coates from the university's Russian department said: "It is a great opportunity for staff, students and the general public to find out more about Georgia at an important point in its history."

Bristol and Tbilisi were twinned after the Cold War to encourage East-West cooperation and the partnership continues to foster educational, cultural, social and business links.

The conference was addressed by the Georgian ambassador to the UK Gela Charkviani and the mayor of Tbilisi Giorgi Ugulava.

Mzetamze, an all-women choir from Tbilisi performed during lunch, when delegates sampled Georgian dishes made by Nino Bendukidze, a doctor from the city now working for the NHS.

During the last 20 years, Bristol and Tbilisi have co-operated on projects ranging from waste-management training to setting up a Rotary club, and from youth-work training to fundraising for the Tbilisi Deaf School.

Bristol engineering company Emerson-Moore Geoscience recently opened an office in Tbilisi and Bristol councillor Derek Pickup, who has a vineyard in Georgia, has returned from delivering building materials to Gori where houses were destroyed by Russian troops.