On behalf of the Georgian people, it is an honour to speak here at the General Assembly. The United Nations provides each Member State with a platform to voice concerns and share its views about the most pressing challenges and opportunities of our time. Today I bring the same Georgian spirit of cooperation and global engagement that motivated our country to join the United Nations after the restoration of its independence, 30 years ago. While our democratic nation may be young, our values and traditions are deeply rooted. We have survived and thrived through many cycles of history over thousands of years. Our history has helped forge a tough, proud and resilient people, open to the world and to finding our own way forward. Georgia is a diamond in the rough, still seeking to polish its edges to reveal its full potential as a nation. Situated at the crossroads of civilizations — where East meets West and North meets South — Georgia has always adjusted to meet new challenges at every turn in its past.
I applaud the United Nations for going ahead with the general debate of the General Assembly during a global pandemic. Rather than not meeting, we are acknowledging that a safe and responsible gathering is now more important than ever. The importance of this meeting cannot be understated. The world is still in a brutal war against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has ravaged the globe and affected economies and livelihoods. As we continue our effort to build back better from the pandemic with a sense of unity, we have to come together to meet the needs of the world.
Georgia is grateful to the United States, the European Union (EU) and China, as well as the vaccine producers that have provided vaccines to safeguard the health of the Georgian people. Working with a common purpose, we will put an end to the pandemic and get back to forging a better, brighter future for the entire world.
I stand before the Assembly as the representative of a country that is full of determination and faith, a country that is optimistic but that always looks at its future through a pragmatic lens. I am proud of our membership in the United Nations and of the work the Organization does for humankind. I am also very proud of my country and the work of the governing Georgian Dream Party to deliver a better democracy, a stronger economy and a brighter future for our people. In bringing about the changes needed to keep pushing ahead, my Government has a development plan, a clear vision for 2030 that aligns perfectly with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations. We stand for a more sustainable environment, the protection of the rights of all people, greater economic fairness and resilience and a revitalized United Nations, among many other aspirations shared between Georgia and the United Nations. That cooperative sentiment echoes the
Secretary-General’s report on Our Common Agenda, which outlines an ambitious plan for reinvigorated international cooperation and multilateralism. I believe the General Assembly should work on those recommendations in a determined and substantive way.
Closer to home, Georgian dreams are becoming a reality. We have more than mere aspirations for the future — we aim to get the results that our people are demanding today. Even with the deep setbacks from COVID-19, our economy is on the mend, growth is surging, jobs are being created and we are once again one of the leading tourist destinations in the world. The world continues to recognize our economic, financial and legal reforms. Some notable rankings demonstrate the spectacular strides that Georgia has made to become one of the leading countries of the region in promoting robust economic development. According to the World Bank, Georgia ranks seventh of 190 countries in ease of doing business. The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom ranks us twelfth of 184. And in the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World ranking, Georgia ranks fifth out of 165 countries, three steps higher than the previous year.
It is also important to note that great strides have also been made to advance anti-corruption measures, freedom of the press and human rights. Earlier this week, we heard United States President Joseph Biden call for greater global cooperation in order to meet our largest challenges (see A/76/PV.3). In Georgia we not only share that sentiment, we will always step up to answer the call. We may be a small nation, but we have made outsize contributions to international security, fighting alongside our allies against terrorism and organized crime around the globe. We did so in Afghanistan, where 32 brave soldiers gave their lives and numerous others were injured in the cause of freedom and peace. We recently provided a transportation and logistics hub for thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan and facilitated more than 60 flights, while also accepting workers from many global non-governmental organizations and international financial institutions to temporarily work out of Georgia. Those actions underscore our response to the call for cooperation with our partners and the results that can be achieved when we work together. This summer, alongside its United States partners, Georgia laid the groundwork for the release of 15 Armenian detainees by Azerbaijan. At the same time, Armenia provided maps of mined territories to Azerbaijan.
Our goal has always been to do what we can to support shared action to advance the common good. All our efforts have one simple goal in mind, which is European and Euro-Atlantic integration. We will not rest until we achieve EU and NATO membership. That means we will continue to reform and modernize every aspect of our democracy and economy to align with the highest global standards. Our path to European and Euro- Atlantic structures is a homecoming, a civilizational choice. An absolute majority of our population strongly supports this destiny for our country.
Our historic decision to join the European and Euro-Atlantic family is the core principle guiding our foreign policy. Georgia has made great strides in advancing democracy, human rights and the rule of law, particularly since 2012. All of these are fundamental values that we share with European institutions. We have prepared a comprehensive action plan, packed with initiatives and reforms that will lead to our application for EU membership in 2024. For that I would like to thank our European and international partners, which have shown Georgia strong and steadfast support for all these years. Since 2012 we have held six democratic elections, all of which have been declared free and fair by international election observers. In fact, in a few days we will once again be holding a free, fair and democratic nationwide municipal election.
Since the last time world leaders met in person here at the United Nations two years ago, democracies around the world have been under pressure, if not assault. Irrational and, I would say, dark forces have been at work, often aided and abetted by outside saboteurs. Regardless of the source, we must hold to the democratic path. Elections are often passionate and hard fought, and feelings run high. Yet when elections are free and fair, the winners must be gracious and those who lose must abide by the will of the people. If we cannot trust in elections, then democracy itself is in peril. I therefore call on all here today who care about democracy, progress and free and fair elections to participate with passion in their political systems. And when the dust has settled and a winner is declared, I ask that they respect the will of the people, close ranks and work to move their countries forward.
The challenge to democracy is not the only challenge we are facing. In Georgia, we have achieved much, but more remains to be done. First and foremost, we must create more jobs. At the same time, we must remain dedicated to investing in education and infrastructure,
eradicating poverty, strengthening our health system and diversifying our industrial, service and agricultural sectors. As I have outlined, Georgia is on the move. We are on the right track. We are overcoming COVID-19 and have a long-term plan in place to strengthen our democracy, economy and society.
Yet I am reaching out to the General Assembly today to put an end to Russia’s illegal occupation of sovereign Georgian lands. Not only is Russia occupying 20 per cent of Georgian territory, it is also actively seeking to undermine our aspirations to join the European and Euro-Atlantic family. While our commitment to becoming a true global citizen is unstoppable and cannot be hindered by outside forces, the very freedom we have fought so hard for is being challenged every single day. On our very own soil, in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions, we are seeing a humanitarian crisis, and the responsibility, of course, resides only with the occupying Power. This year, the European Court of Human Rights issued a verdict finding the Russian Federation guilty of occupying and exercising effective control over two Georgian regions and responsible for human rights violations in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali. Today I call on the international community to act in concert in order to address the violations of fundamental principles of international law in the occupied territories and, through joint efforts, to facilitate the implementation of the EU-mediated 12 August 2008 ceasefire agreement.
Every day, Georgian land continues to be subject to creeping annexation and so-called borderization. That includes kidnappings, illegal detentions, unlawful restrictions on people’s freedom of movement and deprivation of the right to education in our native tongue, particularly in the Gali region. During COVID-19, this made medical evacuations virtually impossible. Such actions all carry an unbearable burden for those living on both sides of the razor-wire fences. This must be seen for what it is — pre-planned ethnic cleansing to drive ethnic Georgians out. It must be stopped. In the occupied territories we have a real humanitarian crisis, while on the other side land is being cultivated and the young generation have access to a world- class education, top-level infrastructure and thriving businesses. We want to see the same opportunities and prospects for development and prosperity for young people in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.
That is why we developed A Step to a Better Future, a peace initiative to improve the livelihoods of people living in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions. We believe that only through sustainable peace and security will our fellow citizens have a better future. It is through peace and stability that economies can start to thrive and our peoples prosper together. That is why I want to address our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers and sisters to say that our true strength is in cooperation and unity, which is exactly why our foes want us divided and apart. We have a common history and are part of a common homeland, Sakartvelo. We should jointly define our common future as well. We should build our country together and peacefully turn it into a truly democratic, prosperous and future-oriented European society.
From a geopolitical perspective, the Black Sea region is growing ever more important. The Black Sea is on the front lines of a dynamic regional chess match. It is a microcosm of conflict management. If we can maintain peace and stability there, we can do so elsewhere. Our goal is therefore to ensure peace and stability in the entire region. In the South Caucasus, I propose what I am calling the Peaceful Neighbourhood Initiative to promote stability in our region. This format will facilitate dialogue and confidence-building and lead to the implementation of practical solutions to regional issues of common interest with our United States and EU partners. Georgia stands ready to host an international gathering in Tbilisi to discuss the prospects of our Peaceful Neighbourhood Initiative, involving our South Caucasian neighbours, our brothers, and international partners. Let us begin with small steps to build trust, and then we can move towards resolving other regional and global issues together. A sustainable peace and a common strategic outlook for the South Caucasus will benefit the wider Black Sea region and enhance broader European and global security.
Let me conclude where I began. We are here today as a testament to the power of collective action. Whether it is the fight against the pandemic, financing development to advance our quality of life or the need for collective action to maintain peace, we must act together to live together. There is no alternative. I remain confident that working together we will succeed.