President of Slovakia: Georgia is a fantastic country
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The Georgian government has hosted a round table named "Cooperation for welfare – strategy for the next century" which was attended by the presidents of six countries and the President of European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.
The leaders are visiting Georgia to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first democratic republic.
As the Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili said, Georgian society had quickly acquired European democratic values during the first three years of independence and despite the following many years of Soviet occupation, managed to stay committed to these values.
"Georgia is a leader in the Eastern Partnership family in terms of democratic consolidation, human rights protection, good governance, transparency or economic reforms,” Kvirikashvili said adding that aspirations to become the member of NATO and European Union served as a basis for real transformation.According to the PM the process of Euro-Atlantic integration has encouraged the development of almost every field and defined the character of all the reforms Georgia is carrying out currently.
"20 percent of our country is occupied by Russia currently and we have challenges in our everyday life. 10 years after the signing the 2008 Georgia-Russia Ceasefire Agreement, very sadly, Russia still does not comply with the obligations and makes further steps towards the actual annexation of the inseparable parts of our country - Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions,” Kvirikashvili said explaining that despite provocations, Georgia continues the peaceful policy for conflict resolution with the support of the international society.
He expressed his belief that with a firm position and joint efforts Georgia will manage to peacefully unite the country while economic development will be one of the key point on the road towards achieving this goal.
President of Slovakia Andrej Kiska has shared his positive experience to the members of the round table about days spent in Georgia two years ago.
As president of Slovakia Andrej Kiska pointed out in his speech during the round table, it is hard to carry out reforms while having an aggressive neighbor. He remembered the time spent in Georgia two years ago and shared the story of a Georgian man living near the occupation line.
"I spent fantastic days in Georgia two years ago and I saw how hard working are people in this country. I want to show you a picture where you can see the barbed wire fences and a person behind them. This man has discovered one night that the wire fences are placed on his yard. This is an aggressive neighbor and I guess you all understand who I'm talking about. Under these conditions it becomes very difficult to implement reforms but in any case, I want this part of the world to be much safer. Georgia is a fantastic country and every person here should be given a chance for development," Kiska said.
On the other hand, PM Kvirikashvili has expressed his hope that in 2021, Georgia will meet the 100 years from the Soviet Occupation as a full pledged member of NATO.
"We hope that the international society and NATO will find the power to consolidate this necessary decision which has a great significance for security in our region and not only. Georgia is ready for this challenge,” PM Kvirikashvili added expressing his gratitude towards the guests for coming to Georgia and celebrating this special day with the Georgian people.
489 recruits have made an oath to serve Georgia today at six different places including Tbilisi, Shindisi, Vardzia, Kojori, Batumi and Kutaisi officially welcomed by the President of Georgia into the country’s armed forces.
The other topics discussed at the Security Council meeting included threats coming from the Russian Federation and its influence on the country’s security and defense, the increase of US and other partners’ support, as well as reforms in Georgia’s defense policy.
The final hearing in the case of Georgia v. Russia has come to the end at the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. Georgia’s British lawyer Ben Emerson, a representative of Russian Justice Ministry and the lawyer of the state of Russia, addressed a panel of 17 judges.
The 43rd round of the Geneva International Discussions - international talks launched to address the consequences of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war - took place in the end of March, this year. The participants agreed to hold the next round of talks in June 2018.
The US Congress has initiated a resolution dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia.
Slovakia has taken over the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2019, and unveiled an “ambitious but realistic” agenda in the role, which mentions Georgia.
The Slovak Foreign Ministry says that the state government has no connection with the ITF SLOVAKIATOUR 2019 international tourist exhibition in which the members of the so-called government of the Georgian occupied region of Abkhazia are participating.
The Chair of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak has stated in Tbilisi that Slovakia, which took over the chairmanship of the OSCE this year, is firm in its support of Georgia’s efforts to deal with domestic and foreign challenges.