Parliament official: strategic deals ensure protection of "national interests"

Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Friday said the more strategic cooperation agreements the country signed with various governments, the better it was positioning itself to protect its "national interests".

Samkharadze’s comments followed the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili’s remarks, who on Friday told the Parliament the Constitution authorised the Government to implement the country’s foreign policy without prior agreement of the legislative body, in his answer to being challenged by MPs on the Georgia-China deal, signed during Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s official visit to the country in July. 

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Samkharadze said Georgia and China already had “deep partnerly relations”, and added the Government needing the authorisation from the legislative body on the matter was “improper”. He also noted a "number of European Union member states" had "various deals, including strategic agreements", with China.

He also said Georgia joining the EU and NATO was "not the only priority” the Government had declared, adding the policy of non-recognition, de-occupation," consolidation of international efforts" for the interests of Georgia, as well as the development of partnerships with different regions were also “openly written” in the foreign policy resolution.

The official said the "multi-vector policy" did not mean the Government was distancing itself from joining the EU and NATO, and noted the EU saw the world "according to the principle of multilateralism", a principle he said was represented by Georgia.

Samkharadze also added in addition to the trade and economic directions, it was “strategically important” for the country to closely cooperate with China for Georgia’s policy of non-recognition of its Russian-occupied regions.