Georgia is very proud to maintain trusting, close, long-standing partnership with France - Georgian PM at Bastille Day

Georgia is very proud to maintain a trusting, close and long-standing partnership with France, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Friday at the official reception held in Tbilisi on the occasion of the national day of France - Bastille Day.

In his speech at the event, Garibashvili said the Bastille Day marked the freedom, equality, fraternity and unity of France, congratulating all French people and friends of the country, including Georgia, the Government Administration said.

Photo via Government Administration

The PM noted the storming of the Bastille was “a major event”, for France as for the rest of the world, “the rebellion of the people of Paris against a place symbolising arbitrariness, despotism and injustice constitutes a key moment in modern history, a founding act for all nations that share democracy and the rule of law”, he added.

We share many objectives, in particular that of building a more peaceful, sovereign and progressive Europe. We also have a common ambition to build an international order based on mutual respect, cooperation and common values, at the forefront of which are human rights; another achievement – and not the least – of the French Revolution which began on July 14, exactly 234 years ago”, the PM noted.

Garibashvili highlighted the existing close partnership with France and thanked the country for supporting Georgian aspirations to join the European family, emphasising the “great importance” of France’s “constant efforts to ease tensions and preserve stability in our region”.

Georgia and France enjoy special, close and friendly relations and partnership based on mutual trust and respect of common European values, Garibashvili pointed out in his speech, emphasising “the privileged connection historically enjoyed by Georgia and France”.

Recognition and gratitude are virtues particularly rooted in Georgian culture. They manifest themselves with force and brilliance when it comes to the relationship between our two countries, nourished by a long common history”, the PM said in his speech, citing France’s recognition of the First Georgian Republic of 1918-1921 by welcoming the Georgian Government in exile in the town of Leuville sur-Orge, where Georgian “illustrious ancestors”, with the support of France "have kept the flame of hope alive for more than 70 years, that of a free, democratic Georgia and independent”.

French Ambassador to Georgia Sheraz Gasri and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. Photo via Government Administration

The Head of the Government also highlighted “ambitious joint projects” of the two countries, including the opening of the Historical and Cultural Center of Leuville, which he vowed his Government would ensure to be “in the service of strengthening cultural and scientific ties between our two countries”. 

The significance of the Dimitri Amilakhvari Strategic Dialogue, a “vital platform”, launched in 2019, for strengthening the “multi-dimensional” relations existing between France and Georgia, was stressed by Garibashvili, who noted the states would celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of the Diplomatic Mission of Georgia in France in Paris in October, adding Georgia and France "have cooperated very closely and diligently”, which "has brought many tangible and mutually beneficial results in various fields”.

He cited trade relations between the countries, which "have continued to expand and intensify”, stressing Georgia, “located at the crossroads of many trade routes, can bring a lot to Europe, based on the vitality of Franco-Georgian economic cooperation”. Garibashvili also announced that Georgia would be Guest of Honor this year at the ICLPP International Conference on Livestock and Poultry Production, expressing hope it would “give rise to new joint projects”.

The PM highlighted fruitful cooperation in the fields of education and research, and noted the first Franco-Georgian University, created in 2019 represented “the most promising Franco-Georgian gateway”. “Tbilisi has just hosted the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie, an important international forum which should promote the development of French language teaching in our country”, he added.

• Georgian PM hails “long, rich tradition” of celebrating Francophonie in Georgia at Parliamentary Assembly

Garibashvili “saluted” the assistance of France, one of the largest international donors to Georgia over the years, including involvement of the Agence Française de Développement, and highlighted the “excellent cooperation” between the countries in the strategic area of defence and security, emphasising the support for Georgian servicemembers, within the framework of European Union and NATO military operations as “valuable contributions to international peace and security”.

French Ambassador to Georgia Sheraz Gasri, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and his spouse Nunuka Tamazashvili at the Bastille Day reception. Photo via Government Administration

At key moments in our history, including the most painful, France has always been at the side of the Georgian people. Allow me to express once again our sincere gratitude to the French nation for the decisive role that France played during the 2008 war”, the Head of the Government said, reaffirming “the firm will and the determination” of his Government to pursue “close and fruitful” cooperation with France.

In his address, the PM also said Georgia “greatly appreciated” France’s support in the “irreversible process” of the country’s integration into the EU and NATO, and added the full integration of Georgia into the bloc and the Alliance was “a choice of the Georgian people, a historic opportunity to anchor Georgia definitively in a community whose values and vision of the world it intimately shares”.