Georgia hosts high-level forums
Georgia hosted multiple high-level forums, conferences, and high-level meetings in October including, North Atlantic Council (NAC) visit, NATO-Georgia Public Diplomacy Forum, and Silk Road Forum.
NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL VISIT
The visit of the North Atlantic Council (the principal political decision-making body of NATO, comprised of Ambassadors from NATO member states) highlighted the significance of Georgia to NATO and Alliance member states. The NAC delegation, led by outgoing NATO Deputy Secretary Rose Gottemoeller, once again reaffirmed readiness to enhance cooperation with Georgia.
Within the framework of the visit, the NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC) held an Ambassadorial level meeting in Batumi with the participation of the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. The NGC adopted a statement highlighting the clear progress made by Georgia on defense spending and implementation of defense reforms. The statement also highlighted Georgia’s significant contribution to the Resolute Support Mission (RSM), increased participation in Black Sea security discussions, achievements of Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP), and reiterated full support for Georgia’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
4TH ANNUAL NATO-GEORGIA PUBLIC DIPLOMACY FORUM: BUILDING RESILIENCE: THE POWER OF INFORMATION.
Public Diplomacy Forum focused on the need for strengthening resilience against disinformation and propaganda. To tackle these modern-day challenges, Forum brought together high-level government officials, senior representatives from NATO HQ, experts, public diplomacy professionals, representatives of media, academia, NGOs from Georgia and NATO member and partner countries.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia David Zalkaliani gave opening remarks, highlighting the importance of public diplomacy and strategic communications amid increased hybrid security threats in Georgia. He reiterated Georgia’s unwavering aspirations to join the North Atlantic alliance.
Keynote speaker Lea Gabrielle, the United States Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global Engagement Center at the US Department of State, highlighted the US support for Georgia’s membership to NATO and US policy towards Russian malign activities in Georgia. “The United States will continue to work with the Georgian government, and people build a resilient society that can withstand the pressures of Russian malign influence,” noted Special Envoy Gabrielle in her remarks. She announced that the Global Engagement Center will soon launch the “Learn to Discern in Georgia” — education program, which provides voting-aged youth with information literacy skills to recognize propaganda and fake news.
THE TBILISI SILK ROAD FORUM: PARTNERSHIP FOR GLOBAL IMPACT
Georgia hosted the third biennial Silk Road Forum 2019, welcoming more than 2000 delegates from all over the world, including government and business sector representatives from over 60 countries. Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia opened the Forum, highlighting Georgia’s strategic and business-friendly location, “Georgia is the gateway to this region. Our goal is to integrate not just East and West, but North and South. Therefore, Georgia is taking concrete steps to build strong economic relations with all partners in the region and beyond,” stated PM Gakharia.
The Forum provided a platform for the government officials and other delegates for side events and over 3000 bilateral meetings.
