2018-02-18
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, in his speech delivered at today's special event dedicated to Georgia and held under the 54th Munich Security Conference, emphasized that Georgia boasts efficient democratic governance, ever-improving rule of law, vibrant political life, media freedom, economic dynamism, investment-friendly environment and low level of corruption.
Besides Georgia's achievements on its European and Euro-Atlantic journey, the Prime Minister also singled out the country's innate European spirit in areas as diverse as politics and literature.
"In Georgia, we believe that these major achievements can be maintained only by respecting the values and principles of democracy and peaceful coexistence of nations.
We know that our strong commitment to the values of peace and freedom are fundamental to our progress as a nation. Our commitment to these values enables us to be more successful in implementing effective reforms, strengthening defense capabilities, pursuing an independent foreign policy, integrating into the free world and, ultimately, building a genuinely democratic state," Giorgi Kvirikashvili said.
According to the Prime Minister, when it comes to corruption, Georgia is even ahead of some EU member-states. Since September 2017, Georgia assumed the Chairmanship of the Open Government Partnership. This global multilateral initiative promotes transparency and empowers citizens worldwide, and the Georgians are understandably proud of this recognition.
"Since we regained independence about 26 years ago, Georgia has been aspiring to join - or rather re-join - the European and Euro-Atlantic community, with whom we share common history, culture and values. This is the choice of the overwhelming majority of our people, which manifested in Georgia's foreign policy goal to become a fully-fledged member of NATO and the EU.
Our aspirations to return to the political and cultural space from which we were forcibly pulled out, have been reciprocated. Both NATO and EU, along with member states, have extended the hand of support to our newly independent state that at the time had fragile democracy, and the Georgian people deeply appreciate it.
Germany has always been among Georgia's staunchest allies and most valuable and trusted friends. German economic assistance in early 1990s helped Georgia to survive the dire conditions of Soviet collapse. With the years, cooperation between our countries became genuinely multi-dimensional, encompassing politics, economy, defense, security, education, science, culture, and many other fields.
Germany has played a crucial role in Georgia's journey to the West. Germany's substantial contribution and the EU's institutional support helped Georgia become a sustainable democracy," Giorgi Kvirikashvili pointed out.
According to the Prime Minister, the efficient implementation of the ambitious Association Agreement with the EU, together with DCFTA, remains a top priority of the Georgian Government.
"The benefits of Georgia's close cooperation with the EU are obvious. Last March, Georgian citizens were granted visa-free travel to the Schengen countries. This historic momentum brought Georgia significantly closer to Europe. The visa-free regime facilitates professional exchanges between businesspeople, scholars, students, and people, including artists. It means the possibility for Georgians to come to Europe and see Europe's achievements first-hand - prosperity, respect for the rule of law and a people-friendly environment - the world that Georgia strives to join," the Prime Minister said.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili described in detail the latest statistics demonstrating Georgia's transformation, which, according to him, are impressive, indeed.
"I will limit myself to mentioning that Georgia moved from 104th to 64th place in the Freedom of Press index since 2012, from 137th to 48th position in Global Competitiveness Index, and advanced 74 positions from 120th to 46th in Property Rights category.
Georgia is a natural hub connecting East and West. We are actively promoting strategic East-West initiatives, including the Southern Corridor and the New Silk Road. Our government launched ambitious infrastructural projects to facilitate East-West trade through road, waterways and rail. We opened the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in October 2017, connecting Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. Construction of the Anaklia deep sea port is underway, paving the way for future investments and prosperity in the region.
The European Union's transformative power and the European choice and determination of our people has made Georgia a regional leader in building a stable European democracy," the Prime Minister underscored.
According to Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Georgia's recent experience is a powerful example that democratic transformation and strengthening security and stability is still possible in the region with unresolved conflicts.
"Today, Georgia still faces serious security challenges. Occupation and ongoing militarization of 20% of our internationally recognized territory, hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people remains a major problem.
We live in a time when no one is immune to security threats. For this reason, we particularly cherish our relations with Western partners and especially our bilateral ties with Germany. These ties are tried and tested and go back to the first German settlements in Georgia exactly two centuries ago. Germany played a major role in the establishment of the first democratic republic of Georgia 100 years ago and continues to be an instrumental guarantor of Georgia's sovereignty and development," the Prime Minister stated.
According to Kvirikashvili, Georgia truly being the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair as a unique opportunity to make Germans and the wider international community familiar with contemporary Georgia and its rich literary heritage, history, traditions and culture.
"The Georgian-German rapprochement has been so intense that there are couple of Georgian writers who write books in German and have already established themselves as renowned German authors. Many of you may be familiar with the works of these authors - Nino Kharatishvili and Givi Margvelashvili.
Around 200 books by various Georgian authors - modern and classic - will be presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair later this year, which can be seen not only as a recognition of the literary talent of Georgian authors, but also a symbol of affinity between our two nations, between Georgia with its European aspirations and Germany - an established European democracy with its celebration of individual freedoms.
This again proves that the EU-Georgia relations are not only about the technicalities of Georgia's European agenda. This is also about the power of creative imagination of writers, poets and artists, which brings different cultures together and celebrates the diversity and richness of the world we share," the Prime Minister of Georgia emphasized.
The even dedicated especially to Georgia, which was held under the Munich Security Conference, featured a thematic discussion with the participation of members of the Georgian Government and Georgian authors.
Prime Minister's Press Office