President of the EU Commission praises anti-epidemic measures of Georgian gov't
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen noted that Georgia and the EU are "very close" friends and Georgia may rely on "solid support" from the EU. Photo: Gov't of Georgia.
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President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has praised the measures taken by the government of Georgia in the fight against the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), along with current economic and political reforms in the country during a video conference with the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia held today.
Leyen noted that Georgia and the EU are "very close" friends and Georgia may rely on "solid support" from the EU, as evidenced by the "tangible financial support at the time of crisis". She also noted that the European Commission stands ready to continue supporting Georgia.
During the video conference PM Gakharia spoke about the current situation in the occupied territories of Georgia.
Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Irakli Chikovani, Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia participated in the video conference. Photo: Gov't of Georgia.
He said that while the entire world is fighting the pandemic, the occupation forces continue their so-called borderisation process, and that the support and solidarity of Europe "is now more important than ever". In response Leyen reiterated the solid support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, thereby noting that it will continue in the future as well.
Gakharia and Leyen also talked about the implementation of the association agenda. They reviewed the opportunities created by the Association Agreement signed between the EU and Georgia in June 2014. Cooperation within the Black Sea region and current infrastructure projects, which connect Georgia with the EU, have been singled out within this context.
Gakharia and Leyen noted that Georgian PM's official visit to Brussels, which was scheduled for April, has been postponed because of the pandemic and will be held after combating the global challenge. Leyen also confirmed her readiness to once again visit Georgia as soon as the first opportunity arises and this time in the new role of the incumbent President of the European Commission.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has praised the efforts of the Georgian government against the coronavirus, saying that the country is coping with the virus successfully. Stoltenberg phoned Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani to relay this message and say that the NATO foreign ministerial on April 3-4 will be held in a restricted manner, Georgian Foreign Ministry said. “NATO stands by the Georgian government and its people in the fight against the coronavirus,” the foreign ministry cited Stoltenberg as saying.
Top state officials from the UK and Spain have expressed their gratitude to Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili for her words of solidarity in these hard times due to the coronavirus.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has praised the Georgian government for its ‘proactive steps’ to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus. “These are challenging times, and we are all trying to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe and healthy. We at the U.S. Embassy are particularly grateful for the pro-active efforts of the government of Georgia, including the NCDC, the PM, the president, almost every ministry, and parliament, doing their best to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and minimize its impacts”, she said.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says that when the coronavirus is ‘turning the world upside down’ he ‘cannot think of a better place to be right now than here in Georgia.’Hartzell states that there are no easy answers regarding COVID-19 and that the EU is suffering much from the virus.“Just look at the pictures coming out of Spain and Italy these days. In this context I would like to congratulate the Georgian government and the Georgian politicians for doing what all evidence suggest is the right approach – to act early and to act robustly,” Hartzell said.
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a COVID-19 support package for Georgia comprised of €150 million to help the country limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Georgia will benefit from over €183 million ($198,282,717) of redirected bilateral funds from the European Union in response to the coronavirus outbreak.