PM Gakharia to UN: ‘Georgia has always been, remains a nation committed to Western values’
Georgian PM has delivered a speech for the UN’s 75th anniversary. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has stated in his speech for the UN’s 75th anniversary that Georgia ‘has always been and remains to this day a nation committed to Western values, which naturally harmonized Western and Eastern cultures and civilizations on Georgian soil’.
Today, Georgia is positioning itself in the world as a country with one of the highest democratic standards in the region, and one that is never complacent with achievements and always strives for development,” Gakharia said.
He stated that the country has implemented ‘a historic constitutional reform’ resulting in Georgia’s switchover to European parliamentary governance in 2020, and the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2024 ‘will be held in line with a fully proportional electoral system.’
With these changes, the ruling political party has succeeded in what many political forces have declared throughout our state’s 30-year-long history but have never actually dared to implement,” Gakharia said.
Gakharia stated that the current government does and will do everything to ensure a free, impartial, transparent, and democratic environment ‘for these crucially important elections’ amid the pandemic.
He stated that Georgia is part of European civilization, which is why the path of the country’s development remains unchanged, aiming at European and Euro-Atlantic integration, ‘which is enshrined in the country’s Constitution and is not subject to revision’.
Our main value is the people, for whom tolerance—the core Western value—is an integral part of their identity.
Georgia has signed an Association Agreement with the European Union, with visa-free travel and a Free Trade Agreement also being in force. All this enables us to strengthen our European institutions, develop highest-standard infrastructure, empower small and medium-sized businesses, foster the adoption of modern technologies, and stand by Europe in dealing with challenges,” Gakharia said.
He stated that Georgia has been participating in international peacekeeping missions in various countries for years and today the country is an important player in ensuring global security ‘as Georgia’s security is inseparable from global security.’
A bill has been registered in parliament per the agreement of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the opposition on March 8.
US Senators Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,and Jeanne Shaheen,a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, have welcomed a recent agreement between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections, stating that making the deal will benefit the democratic development of the country.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that through the passing of the election bill earlier today, ‘Georgia has taken another important step to ensure its European and Euro-Atlantic future.’"The new electoral system which was adopted demonstrates the Georgian Dream's strong will to consistently implement the most important changes for the country, which no other political force has been able to achieve, and which serves to further consolidate a European parliamentary democracy in Georgia,” Gakharia said.
The Georgian parliament has passed the election bill drafted with the mediation of the diplomatic corps in its third and final reading earlier today. 117 MPs voted for and three went against the bill which will institute a more proportional electoral system for this autumn’s parliamentary elections. The United National Movement and European Georgia opposition parties refused to participate in the vote, stating that with the continued incarceration of the co-founder of opposition-minded TV channel Giorgi Rurua, the ruling party ‘did not fully abide by the March 8 election agreement.’
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that coronavirus continues to attack the world and Georgia, but the knowledge Georgia has gained allows the country to manage the situation and share its successful experience in this regard.
Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia held a number of meetings at European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium today, with the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia, Georgia’s aspiration for EU membership and further relations with European Union were high on the agenda.