COVID-19 Will Show Georgia’s Transparency and Competence to the Rest of the World - Diplomat Magazine

France’s pledge of support to Georgia in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is a commendable feat that signifies a growing relationship between both countries. France remains one of the countries which recognizes Georgia’s European Union aspirations, and is actively encouraging and engaging her citizens to invest in Georgia.

In this interview, we spoke to the Ambassador of France to Georgia, Diego Colas, a legal mind and French Diplomat who has gathered extensive experience from working on the development of EU affairs and in French diplomatic circles. The Ambassador highlighted France’s programs that hold huge benefits for Georgia and he remained optimistic that Georgia will maintain the highest norms and standards of democracy in the coming parliamentary elections.

You worked in many other countries before you commenced your mission here in Georgia last year. How do you work here in the capital of Georgia? What is your overall impression of the country?

Most of my previous postings led me to work on EU affairs, mostly as a government lawyer but also as special advisor to the Minister for Europe and in the French Embassy in London. This is a very useful experience as an essential aspect of my work here in Tbilisi is to promote the development of EU norms and standards, and more generally to encourage European ways of doing things.

I never had the opportunity to work in Eastern Europe (in the wider sense of the term) since the beginning of my career, although I have a longstanding interest in the region. I was a student in the 1990’s, when events happened in the region that changed the world and clearly made it a better place, and I have always wanted to live and work here. So I am especially gratified for the opportunity to serve in Georgia.

I am in the process of discovering the country, and I do so with a passion. Its considerable history, its culture, its wine making tradition, its heritage, all this is very impressive and, for a Frenchman, inspiring. I look forward to the reopening of internal (and then international) tourism in Georgia, so that I can explore even more the many regions of the country.

How has the pandemic affected the work of the embassy and your plans?

The beginning of the pandemic was quite a challenge. Very quickly, it was necessary to re-organize work in the embassy, in order to keep the staff safe and, at the same time, to ensure the effective fulfilment of public services (the school, the French Institute). There was also an urgent need to help French community members in Georgia by keeping them well informed and to assist French people on short visits to Georgia as they were striving to return to France after the regular air traffic was interrupted. This was quite demanding. Another consequence of the pandemic has been to bring economic issues even more to the forefront of my work as, in view of the macroeconomic situation, the Georgian government called for the assistance of its close partners. Also, French businesses in Georgia needed help.

With the pandemic, some projects were postponed as seminars, visits or partnerships could not be programmed or had to be deprogrammed. However, as we now look at what we planned to do and what we should reschedule, it strikes me that most of what we were doing is even more relevant now. We were working on health and labor migration cooperation. Indeed, a very productive visit took place on this subject in February. We were developing the French school, especially by ensuring that all classes, including the last two levels (equivalent to classes 11 and 12 in the Georgian system), were “homologue”, which means that they are recognized to be at the highest standards of our Ministry for Education equivalent to those of a school in France, for which we have just received a positive answer. We were also preparing to launch the first courses in the French-Georgian university, which should contribute to the development of skills in the agro industry and in the tourism sector, for a start, and then to many other sectors at a later stage. We were starting to put in place co-operations in the field of agriculture and energy. All of this is more needed than ever in the “new world” post pandemic. How can France help other countries fight the pandemic? One question is also how can we all help each other. It is clear that the pandemic is a worldwide challenge which demands a coordinated response. We therefore need, all of us together, to strengthen multilateral cooperation both in the field of health as well as more generally. In a country like Georgia, where a very competent and transparent response to the pandemics proved a great success and gave the world a very positive image of the country, I think everyone is aware that cooperation within effective international organizations is paramount. It is obvious that security, prosperity, health can only be guaranteed if countries work together and they need strong international organizations to do so.

Therefore, one way for each of us to help each other is by strengthening multilateralism, the UN system, the global governance of health issues. In early April, President Macron helped launch the Alliance ACT (access to COVID tools) Accelerator, with a view to raise funding for research towards vaccinations available for all. It was a success as 7.5 billion dollars were raised. Also, the Third Peace Forum in Paris in November, will focus essentially on the issues of global governance in the field of health, as well as on the economic reconstruction with the first ever summit of development banks.

Then there is the more traditional cooperation in the field of health. As part of Team Europe, I believe that France, along with the European Union and other member states, was able to quickly provide help, guidance, financing to contribute to the remarkable response by which the Georgian government and society impressed everyone so much. We will surely achieve the same unity of view and of purpose in fighting the economic consequences of the pandemic.

Recently, France allocated 190 million euros to support Georgia’s COVID-19 Response Plan. Could you tell us more about this activity?

On April 9, international donors signed a letter to the people and the government of Georgia committing to provide exceptional support to the recovery of Georgia post pandemic. I was very happy to sign this letter on behalf of the Agence Française de Développement. The Agence opened its Tbilisi office in December 2015 and has become, in 4 and a half years, a key actor among the international donors to Georgia.

In the past two years, we have put in place public policy loans in the fields of health and energy. When the pandemic struck, we decided to increase significantly our commitment to Georgia, from a pre-crisis level of 80 million euros on these two fields to 190 million euros (70 million euros for health, 120 million euros for energy). The idea is to make a significant contribution to the mobilization of international donors on behalf of Georgia. Regarding cooperation in the field of health, it is obvious why new needs would appear in the pandemic and why we could and should increase our commitments. In the field of energy, there are two reasons for increasing our commitments. One is that part of the response to the COVID-19 is to help the more vulnerable groups in society adjust to economic hardships. In the short term, this can be done through cancelling energy bills for the most vulnerable groups. In the long term, we wish to promote energy efficiency measures which would reduce such bills for everyone. The other reason is that, as Georgia adopts an energy reform to build up a more efficient electricity market, we are keen to support this reform. We are expecting to see more investment in green energy, and this is an important part of the “new world” post COVID. We are proud to help Georgia do all of this.

How do you think this crisis will affect the economic relations between France and Georgia?

I think that the crisis will show the world how competent and transparent, i.e. how European Georgia already is. This will definitely increase interest in this country and therefore strengthen the links between French and Georgian importers, exporters and investors.

We have seen that, in the middle of the crisis, some businesses were re-thinking their organization, and especially where to locate their production towards regional and east European markets, and that Georgia had arguments to convince decision makers to invest and grow in the country. There is a business friendly environment in Georgia. The government and the wider society are attentive to the needs of international partners. Free trade agreements are in place. I have just visited, together with the Minister of Economy, the factory of one of our biggest investors, Groupe Atlantic in Kutaisi. They will be creating jobs and offer more training opportunities in the months to come. I see it as an important part of my work in the coming months to encourage the development of these win-win partnerships.

Georgia is preparing for her Parliamentary elections this autumn; do you have any consultations with the government and the political parties? What would be your suggestions?

Generally, my view is that diplomats are not and should not be part of the domestic political process. We are friendly but outside observers. One thing which matters to us, though, is that Georgian democracy follows the highest European norms and standards. These standards apply to the election process itself, but also to the conduct of the campaign in the months before. They apply to the freedom of the press and to all fundamental rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. The respect of those standards is also part of Georgian commitments as a member of OSCE and appears in the Association agreement with the UE as well. This is at the core of what it means to be a European partner and we expect no less of a country so close to us.

Helping Georgia meet and keep the highest democratic standards is the reason why many western ambassadors facilitated political discussions among all political forces, leading to the March 8 agreement. Having an agreement among all political forces on the basic rules of the game before an election generally strengthens a democracy. This is why we have all hailed this deal as a great success and I think it is a source of great strength for Georgia. Implementation, of course, is key, which means adopting the legal texts foreseen in the agreement, and respecting the principles set out in the agreement. This also includes avoiding any appearance of impropriety in the way the justice system deals with cases having political ramifications, which, in truth, is a challenge in all democracies. I am optimistic that the agreement will be fulfilled, which should help make the election another example of Georgian success.