Statement by Georgian Prime Minister on occasion for Georgia's showcase at Europalia festival

Statement by Irakli Garibashvili, Georgian Prime Minister on occasion for Georgia's showcase at Europalia festival.

"Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends and Dear Guests, Dear Minister, Dear Commissioner Varhelyi, My Dear Friends, First of all, I would like to express my gratitude and the gratitude of the Georgian people and the Georgian Government to the Government of Belgium and Her Excellency Madam Minister for the support and warm hospitality.

I would also like to thank everyone who contributed to the organisation of today’s event.

A great journey of the Georgian culture in Belgium and beyond is about to start. It is a great honour for us that this year’s Europalia will be dedicated to Georgia. Georgia’s ancient history and rich culture will be represented with dozens of exhibitions, concerts, theatre productions and literary evenings.

The Georgian culture has never been represented abroad on such a comprehensive scale. This makes it an excellent opportunity for us to introduce one of the oldest histories and cultures to Brussels and many other beautiful cities of Belgium and beyond.

This is especially important for us today, when all our efforts are aimed at joining the European Union. Regaining our place among the European nations has been the dream of many generations of Georgians and we are ready to do all that it takes to make this dream come true.

Indeed, in the last decade, we have managed to achieve historic milestones, including by signing the Association Agreement and Free Trade Agreement, and being granted visa-free travel regime with the European Union and becoming one of the front-runners among the nations that aspire to join the European Union. Last year the European Union granted Georgia the EU membership perspective which represents the biggest foreign policy achievement of Georgia’s modern history.  

Since this landmark decision, we have been sparing no effort to obtain the EU candidate status by the end of this year and open a completely new chapter in Georgia's Western integration. With full responsibility I would like to reaffirm our commitment to address all the priority recommendations of the European Commission and earn the candidate status. We have never deviated from our chosen path, and we will make sure that nothing stands on the way of Georgia’s democratic, European and prosperous future. 

Dear Friends, we believe that our history, culture, values, and recent achievements have prepared us to tackle the challenges on the path to EU. Georgia’s geography made sure that the Georgians have lived a very rich history.  At the crossroad of Europe and Asia, Eastern and Western civilizations, in the proximity to the Great Silk Road, being in the epicentre of the battles between great empires, and very often the target of these confrontations only strengthened our nation through centuries and shaped our identity and our values. Our longing to join the European Union is rooted in this unique historical experience and this is what has given us the confidence to continue on this path when few people thought we could make it.  

Ancient Colchis - the holders of the Golden Fleece - the early Christian Georgians in the IV century or the masters of the early Georgian Renaissance in the XII –XIII centuries laid the foundation of the nation that withstood many calamities of history but managed not only to survive but to give the world many masterpieces of our architecture, gold-smithery, and literature. The XII century epic poem The Knight in Panther’s Skin by Shota Rustaveli, further shaped our worldview and not less importantly helped us keep our unique language - the very same language we spoke in the times of Rome and still continue to speak; the language we use to write with the unique and ancient alphabet that is said to exist at least as early as the VII century B.C. The three written systems of the Georgian alphabet are today part of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

As our Ambassador already announced, tonight we will have the opportunity to hear the Georgian polyphony. This polyphony - secular, ritual, religious, laymen’s or martial - represent probably the best the spirit and the creativity of the Georgian people.

Every time I speak about Georgia’s European identity, I cannot ignore probably one of the most important elements of our affinity with all other Europeans - the wine. I am saying it with caution as I am conscious that we are in the country which elevated the beer - not the wine - to the realm of arts! Georgia is believed to be the birthplace of wine. One of the oldest traces of eight thousand years old wine production were found on the territory of Georgia. The ancient tradition of making the Quevri wine has been declared a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Monument of the World.

The cultural life of the early XX century was one of the most remarkable expressions of the Georgia’s cultural expression. Our capital, Tbilisi, became one of the most important centers of modernism and avant-garde art at a time of great political, cultural and social shifts in the world. Modern Georgian theatre, cinema, opera, ballet, fine arts, literature and poetry are still not widely known to a bigger part of the world, and it is our privilege of our generation to share it with all of you.

The reason why I made this humble overview of Georgia’s history and culture was to tell you what we will be bringing to Belgium this Autumn during the four months of the Europalia-Georgia Arts Festival.  

My dear friends, today we are also marking the 105th anniversary of Georgia’s independence. 105 years ago, as soon as Georgia regained its independence from Russia, our first democratic republic adopted the first Constitution. This Constitution on which our current constitution is based, reflected the most progressive tendencies in Europe of that period. The young but short-lived Georgian democratic republic already advocated such values as freedom, democracy and rule of law.  Being in Belgium, I cannot bypass mentioning the fact that that Constitution was particularly appreciated by the Belgian members of the delegation of the European socialists visiting Georgia in 1920.   

In this context, I would like to recall Mikhail Muskhelishvili (Michel Muskheli), a Georgian scholar and co-author of the draft European Constitution. He was a man who was ahead of his time and who, passionate with the idea of the united Europe, predicted its formation. He once said: "Georgia knows that it belongs to Europe. It is necessary that Georgia takes its rightful place in Europe and Western countries should welcome Georgia into their family.” These words were pronounced almost a century ago. Today, we are already welcome to the family of the European nations, and this is also what we want to celebrate together with you.

My dear friends, let me note that our meeting is taking place at a perilous point of European history. The Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens modern-day values and fundamental principles of the rules-based international order. Georgia firmly stands with our friendly nation – with Ukraine and Ukrainian people - and by the free world facing today’s important global challenges. The Russia's invasion of Ukraine started a war, which affects all of us. Georgia experienced the Russian aggression for too many times. You all know that almost 15 years ago we had a full-scale war in 2008. Our country suffered heavy human losses and 20% of our territory is still occupied by Russian troops. 

My dear friends, to sum up, I would like to thank you for being here tonight and to share with you the strong belief of the Georgians that achieving the goal of many generations of Georgians to take our rightful place in the family of democratic nations of Europe is not only in the interest of Georgia, but also will make this family stronger and more united.Thank you very much!"