Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia addressed a high-level Open Government Summit which was held in the frames of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly earlier today.
In his remarks PM Gakharia stressed Georgia's commitment to the principles of the Open Government Partnership initiative and the success achieved by the country on the path to democratic development.
“Only #OpenGov can respond well to the citizens’ needs & be resilient to the challenges of the modern world. In these hard times, we all were reminded that the strong cooperation between the government, civil society, private sector & international partners is a key to success.” pic.twitter.com/ZZzf7k8j2G
— Open Gov Partnership (@opengovpart) September 24, 2020
PM Gakharia also noted that the results of the reforms carried out by the country in the fight against corruption, the development of public services, and the establishment of progressive open government became particularly tangible during the fight against COVID-19.
The success story of our country continues and we remain committed to the Open Government Partnership and its values. We have a solid track record of implementing drastic measures to fight corruption, develop public services, and establish progressive open government”, PM Gakharia said.
The results of these efforts became particularly tangible upon the commencement of the fight against the novel coronavirus. Technologies, public services, and trust-building with the civil society that were developed in our country over the years have helped us remain as transparent as possible in the times of the novel coronavirus," he added.
Giorgi Gakharia also emphasised the need for cooperation with the civil society, noting that the difficult period of the pandemic reminded everyone of the importance of continuous cooperation between the government, the civil society, the private sector and international partners.
Members of the OGP Steering Committee, including Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel, President of France Emmanuel Macron, and Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte also addressed the participants of the meeting.
The Open Government Partnership is an international initiative that brings together 78 countries. Georgia hosted the 5th OGP Global Summit in Tbilisi in 2018. In 2019 member states re-elected Georgia as a member of the OGP Steering Committee for a three-year term.