Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday told Derek Chollet, the Counselor of the United States Department of State, he was “sincerely disappointed” with the former US Ambassador Kelly Degnan’s “support” for “two revolution attempts” in the country between 2020 and 2023, alleging the attempts had been carried out through domestic NGOs “financed from external sources”.
Having successfully obtained the EU candidate country status, Georgia is now poised to engage in membership negotiations with the European Union. We are now working on new ‘9 steps’. And this is a challenging period for our future integration with the EU, because the process coincides with the parliamentary elections later this year. Therefore, we need to make a serious effort to secure our democracy.
On March 4, I travelled from Tbilisi to Berlin, only to discover at the airport of the German capital that Georgia was still in front of me in the middle of Europe. The reason for this was the numerous advertising banners that positioned Georgia impressively with the messages of “Infinite hospitality - Georgia”, “Find Infinite Wonders”, “Meet Infinite Culture” and more. I quickly realised the Georgian adventure in Berlin was only beginning.
As I am approaching the end of my ambassadorial term in Georgia, it is time to take a small step back and try to absorb all the unforgettable personal and professional experiences of the past 2.5 years. Time has flown so incredibly fast and it’s impossible to believe that soon I’ll have to pack up once again and move on.
Today, December 13, 2021, English-language Georgian news platform Agenda.ge is marking its 8th birthday. I am retiring as the editor in chief of Agenda.ge at the end of December 2021. My mission and time as the head of Agenda.ge has come to its end. Starting January 1, 2022, I will no longer be the editor-in-chief.
The Georgian Public Defender’s Office on Friday said its representatives had visited some of the individuals arrested on Thursday during protests in the country’s capital Tbilisi against the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence.
Georgia has become a donor country of the Asian Development Fund for the first time after making a contribution to the Asian Development Bank’s $5 billion fund designated to support the most vulnerable populations in Asia and the Pacific.
Pre-election environment in Georgia and the domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence were discussed on Thursday in a meeting between a delegation of the Georgian Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, Anthony Banbury, the President of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and Alexander Sokolowski, the Deputy Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Europe and Eurasia.
The Georgian foreign office on Friday said freedom of assembly and expression was “ensured at the highest standard” in the country, in response to a statement of the French Foreign Ministry, which on Thursday denounced violence against demonstrators in Tbilisi during rallies against the controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence.
Georgia is hosting the 57th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank next month under the slogan “The Bridge to the Future”, to reflect its stance as a country with a long history of serving as a natural bridge between Europe and Asia. It is also set to host the major event with a status as a candidate for membership in the European Union, as the country aims to showcase its potential as a vital link between the two continents and encourage building bridges.
The Time Out magazine, a travel publication, has named Georgia’s northern highland town of Stepantsminda among its 16 “most beautiful small towns around the world to visit in one lifetime”.
The Union of European Football Associations on Wednesday highlighted the Georgian national football team’s first-ever qualification for a major international tournament after the squad defeated Greece to book a spot at the 2024 European Championship.
The Times of India, an English-language Indian daily newspaper and digital news media, is promoting Georgia and its capital of Tbilisi as a visitor destination.