Interview with the Prime Minister of Georgia

In this interview with the Prime Minister of Georgia, Mr. Mamuka Bakhtadze, he stressed Georgia’s stance towards the aggression from Russia and the country’s moves towards achieving the UN SDG goals and other goals. The Prime Minister also highlighted his new economic model and carefully underscored the fact that it would change the lives of ordinary Georgian citizens.

Q: Mr. Prime Minister, firstly, let me congratulate you on your appointment and wish you success in this new capacity. It is no easy task, however, given the numerous external and internal challenges facing the country. How would you evaluate the difficulties facing the country, and how do you and your team plan to deal with them?

Thank you very much for your congratulations. Indeed, our country is facing a number of challenges, with de-occupation and the restoration of territorial integrity at the top of the list. At the same time, crucially important is the humanitarian aspect of this problem: the unfair living conditions of the populations on either side of the occupation line, and the IDPs in the rest of Georgia’s territories who have become refugees in their own country.

I have no doubt in my mind that implementing and supporting the policy of peaceful resolution is the only way for ending the occupation, reintegrating the conflict-torn peaceful population, and solving other grievous accompanying problems. The Government of Georgia has always observed these principles, and we are committed to implementing in the future the reconciliation and engagement policy in cooperation with the international community.

In this context, most important is deepening relations with our Western partners, primarily with the US, Georgia’s strategic ally. Work continues on European integration, which is Georgia’s historical and value-based choice with no alternative in terms of the country’s democratic development. In addition, the process of European integration is effective in fostering the country’s stability and development, as evidenced by the examples of the Central and Eastern European countries.

Georgia successfully continues to make full use of EU-Georgia relations, notably the Association Agreement which remains the Georgian Government’s top priority. We are proud of the fact that Georgia is recognized as the Eastern Partnership’s flagship in European integration. At the same time, we have greater ambitions as we are working on the Roadmap2EU designed to assist us achieve deeper integration with the EU and to create opportunities for the country in this regard.

Q: You are attending the UN General Assembly in September. What will be your key message? How do you see the role of the international community in cementing the country’s sovereignty and restoring its territorial integrity?

The UN General Assembly is a special platform, which allows discussing with global leaders, within the context of global topics, Georgia’s achievements in democratic development and European and Euro-Atlantic integration, in order to define prospects and challenges facing the country.

Ten years after the 2018 Russia-Georgia war, it is an excellent opportunity to speak from the UN platform about Russia’s aggression against Georgia, about the occupation of our integral parts and the grievous human rights and humanitarian conditions in the occupied territories, a clear example of which is the murder of Archil Tatunashvili, the latest tragedy in the series.

Clearly, I will use the UN platform to speak about Georgia’s agenda for peaceful conflict resolution. As you know, our Government (is) consistently and resolutely continues its peace policy despite provocations on the ground happening practically on a daily basis.

I will also discuss our concrete steps, including our new peace initiative called A Step to a Better Future. Naturally, especially important in peaceful conflict resolution is effective engagement from the international community.

As you know, the August 12, 2008 ceasefire agreement between Georgia and Russia was signed through the mediation and effort of the EU. Even today, the Geneva International Talks, the most important format for tackling challenges arising from the Russia-Georgia conflict, continue with the active engagement of the EU, OSCE, and the US.

At the same time, the difficult state of affairs in Georgia’s occupied territories demonstrates that greater efforts and effective international engagement are necessary to ensure sustainable peace and stability on the ground.

Importantly, it must be made clear to Russia that the international community will never agree with Russia’s unlawful actions using coercion, violent force, and intimidation to violate sovereign states’ territorial integrity and to affect independent countries’ course of development and foreign policy choices.

Q: Please elaborate on the new economic model announced by you, which, as you say, will have an impact on each household.

The new model is not just about economy. It also involves the multifaceted reform of the current system of management. Substantial innovative reforms will be carried our across all strategic directions. The primary goal of these changes is to improve the population’s living conditions. It is necessary to develop an economic model and to usher in the rules of the game, which will improve the conditions of every Georgian family and every Georgian citizen. It is important to implement these reforms rapidly and effectively to overcome these problems facing our society in a timely manner.

Q: In 2015, UN developed 17 SDGs to be implemented by 2030. Georgia is a signatory to this document. What are the steps taken by your Government to reach UN goals?

Over this time, Georgia has carried out important work to adapt the SDGs to the needs of our country. Concrete objectives have been defined and deadlines set for their implementation in different sectors. The best international practices are shared in this process, and we enjoy active assistance from international donor organizations. Reaching all these goals is more than one particular country handle, which is why we are actively cooperating with the international community. By the way, according to UN and international organizations, Georgia is one of the global leaders in reaching said goals.

The primary task of our Government is striking a healthy balance between the recent economic growth and social justice, to ensure inclusive development, so that each citizen may enjoy the benefits of economic growth. In this regard, the Government’s economic program is fully compatible with the UN Millennium Development Goals.

According to the National Plan, for example, extreme poverty in Georgia must be reduced to 1% by 2030. However, ensuring sustainable economic growth is crucial for overcoming poverty, we need fundamental reforms to transform our country into a competitive modern economy in the world market. To this end, we need further to improve our investment environment, to encourage private-public partnership in various areas. The core effort of our Government will focus on youth, innovation, and education.

Q: How important was Angela Merkel’s recent visit to Georgia?

Above all else, I would like to emphasize that Georgia attaches great importance to furthering our successful bilateral and multilateral relations with Germany. The visit of Madam Merkel, one of the leading politicians in the world, has proved to be extremely important to our country and undoubtedly successful. I would say that the historic visit of Germany’s Chancellor is a clear demonstration of the fact that Georgia holds an important and special place on Germany’s political agenda. The Chancellor’s visit showed that Germany supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, our country’s foreign policy trajectory, and its key priorities, such as Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration and our peace policy. In addition, the Chancellor emphasized Germany’s support of the far-reaching and successful reforms implemented by the Government of Georgia.

Germany considers Georgia its partner, which is important in itself. It is a recognition of Georgia as an outlier in the region.

It is equally important that, on this visit, Merkel was accompanied by representatives of leading German companies who expressed their desire to implement specific projects, which reaffirms the growing interest in our country. Georgia, given its geographic location, offers excellent opportunities for accessing other countries. Georgia can play a vital role in creating a competitive transport corridor. Consequently, it is a unique opportunity and prospect for German companies to expand their trade to cover not only Georgia but the wider region as well.

I can state with confidence that Madam Chancellor’s visit has proved to be historic.