Georgian President speaks of coronavirus-related challenges at high-level UN event
The organisers of the event stated that the global response to the COVID-19 crisis is urgent, and solutions can be found together. Photo: Salome Zurabishvili/Facebook
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Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has joined the United Nations’ high-level virtual event aimed to advance concrete solutions to the development emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her remarks, President Zurabishvili said that for a small country like Georgia with an emerging economy, standing ‘at the door of Europe’, the coronavirus crisis has given 'a number of important lessons’.
Looking at the future we know that we have to adapt and change in our approach to economy and growth by finding a new balance between growth and sustainability, between supporting individual skills and entrepreneurship and public support, between free trade and diversified partners”, President Zurabishvili stated.
Zurabishvili also noted that ‘being a small and flexible, historically resilient country', Georgia has 'both the size and the resources to become a laboratory for testing new models’.
She stated as well that 'global disruptions are opening new alleys for small countries to enter production and supply chains'.
At the same time we know that as a small country we will face more difficulties in accessing capital markets and attracting foreign investment necessary to support new investments and promote sustainable industries. We, however, innovative we cannot walk that road alone", the Georgian President said.
She also underscored that the 'adaptation and rebalancing' of economies has to be a common international endeavour, and 'more solidarities at all levels' is needed.
We need more multilateralism. Cataclysms without borders can only bet met by solidarity without borders. The UN has to be in the driving seat for revamping multilateralism.
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) May 28, 2020
A new Marshall plan should be explored and supported. Extraordinary times deserve extraordinary reactions. pic.twitter.com/dnbRJwm8xk
Canada, Jamaica and the UN Secretary-General convened the virtual event 'to join forces' with heads of states and governments, and international organisations ‘to enable discussions of concrete financing solutions to the COVID-19 health and development emergency for everyone’.
Georgian President's full remarks are available online:
The organisers of the event stated that the global response to the current crisis is urgent, and solutions can be found together.
Therefore, they call on ‘all key actors in this process to take decisive action to ensure all countries recover and build back better from this unprecedented crisis’.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million loan to help Georgia contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, mitigate the impact on businesses, and protect the livelihoods of the most vulnerable, including women and children.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili stated that the Georgian government has not been able to give support to the residents of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Georgian ambassadors to NATO and Geneva will exchange their positions. The new Ambassador of Georgia to the UN Office in Geneva will be Alexandre Maisuradze, while Victor Dolidze will serve as the Ambassador of Georgia in NATO.
Foreign ambassadors in Georgia, who have been facilitating the political dialogue between the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition over the 2020 parliamentary election model, welcomed President Salome Zurabishvili’s decision to pardon opposition politicians Gigi Ugulava and Irakli Okruashvili.
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava said the economy is starting to reopen as the government is successfully containing the spread of the coronavirus. Minister Turnava said particular attention is now being paid to companies, which have been established by foreign investors.
Georgia has reported 11 new cases of the coronavirus earlier today, bringing the total number of cases to 794.624 of the 574 patients have recovered, while 12 have died. As of today, 158 people remain infected with COVID-19 in Georgia. Eight of the 11 new cases belong to the so-called Saburtalo cluster in Tbilisi, while three others are from the Mareti village of Marneuli municipality. Georgia continues to reopen its economy as the country has maintained a low infection rate so far.
Georgia President Salome Zurabishvili made an online address to the UN General Assembly meeting yesterday, dedicated to the UN’s 75th anniversary, where she said that ‘Georgia is not ready to simply stand by the damages caused by occupation to human lives and to human rights’. She stated that the “UN we need is one that will inspire our citizens, create trust and bring effective leadership”.