Georgia’s US Ambassador hosts Washington discussion in annual US-Georgia conference

David Zalkaliani, Georgia’s Ambassador to the United States, on Friday hosted a closed-door discussion as part of the fourth annual US-Georgia Strategic Partnership Conference in Washington.

The discussion brought together senior US administration officials, congressional staff and leading American scholars on Georgia and the Black Sea region, hosted by the Levan Mikeladze Foundation, the Middle East Institute, and  America Georgia Business Council. 

Erika Olson, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs  and Lela Chikovani, the First Deputy Minister of Defence of Georgia, gave remarks at the discussion. 

Zalkaliani highlighted Georgia’s aspirations to join European and Euro-Atlantic structures since its regaining of independence, adding the country was at a “historic crossroads” of waiting for the candidate status for European Union membership. 

Photo: Zalkaliani's Facebook Page.

The Ambassador underlined the “uniqueness” of 30 years of Georgia-US diplomatic relations and the importance of a “strong strategic partnership” between the countries. He also condemned the Russian aggression in Ukraine and noted the “difficult security situation” in the Black Sea region as a result of the conflict.

Participants of the roundtable discussed questions including Georgia's domestic policy and current challenges, stressing the importance of developing regional energy transit corridors and Black Sea ports.