US Congressman Babin sends letter to Georgian PM over ‘delayed reforms’
In a letter of January 23 US Congressman Brian Babin (right) expressed concern over "Georgia's continued backsliding from democratic values and the associated deterioration of its economic prosperity". Photo: Brian Babin's official Facebook page
Tweet 
Share
United States Congressman Brian Babin, who is a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, has sent a letter to Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia over “delayed reforms and a declining climate for US investment” in the country.
As a member of the @housesciencegop Committee, I wrote this letter to Georgia's PM because of delayed reforms & a declining climate for U.S. investment in #Georgia, especially for energy companies here in the U.S. Energy Independence = Freedom! @TvMtavari @TV_Imedi @TVSGeorgia pic.twitter.com/hL5J33oszm
— Brian Babin (@RepBrianBabin) January 24, 2020
“I am writing today to add my voice to increasing concerns regarding Georgia’s continued backsliding from democratic values and the associated deterioration of its economic prosperity”, Congressman Babin wrote in a letter of January 23.
In his letter, Congressman Babin underscored that since its independence in 1991, Georgia has enjoyed “strong support” from the US for many years. He also noted that last year, the US House of Representatives passed the Georgia Support Act which is now under consideration by the US Senate.
It is in the spirit of this policy that I write to you because of a noticeable increasing negative trend in Georgia’s democratic and free-market economic indicators that has become a subject of concern among members of the US Congress”, he stated.
Joining the calls from his fellow Congressmen, Babin hoped that Georgia will continue to be a strategic partner of the US “for many years to come by building its democratic institutions and free-market economy” on a strong foundation of “free and fair elections, public sector transparency and accountability, the rule of law and anticorruption efforts”.
With this in mind, I also hope that your government will find ways to halt aggressive actions against US companies and work to stop the increasing warning signs that represent a threat to the democracy, economic property and freedom that is the natural God-given right of all Georgian people”, Congressman Babin concluded.
Earlier this month, five other Congressmen also addressed Georgian PM Gakharia with concerns, including Markwayne Mullin, as well as Adam Kinzinger, Gerald Connoly, Eliot Engel and Michael McCaul.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said in response to the recent letters on January 23 that Georgian officials are “always ready” to talk to “strategic partners” of the country. However, Gakharia said, “perhaps a letter is not the form of a conversation between strategic partners and friends”.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said in response to the recent letter from the four United States Congressmen that Georgian officials are “always ready” to talk to “strategic partners” of the country. Gakharia, who is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21-24, responded to the question from a Georgian journalist.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that making deeper strategic ties with the US and the EU “is the only way” for Georgia to “survive in a region full of challenges.”Speaking at the New Ambitions for Europe Panel in Davos during the World Economic Forum earlier today, Gakharia said that the region Georgia belongs to is “extremely challenging,” and Georgia has to cope with “daily challenges” caused by the occupation of 20 per cent of its territories by Russia.
United States Congressman Markwayne Mullin, who is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, has sent a letter to Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia with concerns about the "deteriorating economic climate" for foreign direct investment, in particular for US energy companies in the country.
New US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said in her recent swearing-in remarks at the US Department of State “there is no doubt that Georgia is an important and strategic partner for the United States”.