Georgia is very proud to maintain a trusting, close and long-term partnership with France, said Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday at the official reception in Tbilisi on the occasion of France’s national holiday – Bastille Day.
Speaking at the event, Garibashvili said that Bastille Day marked France’s freedom, equality, fraternity and unity, and congratulated all French people and friends of the country, including Georgia, the government administration said.
Photo via Government Administration
The Prime Minister noted that the storming of the Bastille was “a major event” for France, as it was for the rest of the world. “The uprising of the Parisian people against a place that symbolizes arbitrariness, despotism and injustice represents a pivotal moment in modern history. A founding act for all nations that share democracy and the rule of law,” he added.
We share many goals, most notably the goal of building a more peaceful, sovereign and progressive Europe. We also share a common goal of building an international order based on mutual respect, cooperation and shared values, with human rights at the forefront. “Another achievement – and not the least – of the French Revolution that began on July 14, exactly 234 years ago,” noted the Prime Minister.
Garibashvili highlighted the existing close partnership with France and thanked the country for supporting Georgia’s aspirations to join the European family. He stressed the “great importance” of France’s “continuous efforts to reduce tensions and maintain stability in our region”.
Georgia and France maintain special, close and friendly relations and a partnership based on mutual trust and respect for common European values, Garibashvili emphasized in his speech, emphasizing “the privileged connection that Georgia and France enjoyed in the past”.
Appreciation and gratitude are virtues that are particularly embedded in Georgian culture. “They are expressed with vigor and brilliance when it comes to relations between our two countries, nourished by a long common history,” the Prime Minister said in his speech, noting the recognition of the First Georgian Republic of 1918-1921 by France by welcoming the Georgian government-in-exile to the town of Leuville-sur-Orge, where “renowned ancestors” of Georgia, with the support of France, “have kept alive for more than 70 years the flame of hope, that of a free, democratic and independent Georgia”.
French Ambassador to Georgia Sheraz Gasri and Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili. Photo via Government Administration
The Prime Minister also highlighted “ambitious joint projects” between the two countries, including the opening of the historic and cultural center of Leuville, which he pledged his government will ensure is “at the service of strengthening cultural and scientific ties between us” stand two countries”.
Underscoring the importance of the Dimitri Amilakhvari Strategic Dialogue, a “vital platform” launched in 2019 to strengthen “multidimensional” France-Georgia ties, Garibashvili noted that the states are marking the 30th anniversary of the Dimitri Amilakhvari Strategic Dialogue would celebrate the establishment of the diplomatic representation of Georgia in France in Paris in October, adding that Georgia and France “have been working together very closely and conscientiously” which has “brought many tangible and mutually beneficial results in different areas”.
Referring to trade relations between the countries that “continued to expand and intensify,” he stressed that Georgia “lies at the crossroads of many trade routes and can bring much to Europe due to the vitality of Franco-Georgian economic cooperation.” Garibashvili also announced that Georgia would be the guest of honor at the ICLPP International Conference on Livestock and Poultry Production this year, expressing hope that this would “create new joint projects”.
The prime minister highlighted the fruitful cooperation in education and research, noting that the first Franco-Georgian university established in 2019 represents “the most promising Franco-Georgian gateway”. “Tbilisi has just hosted the Parliamentary Assembly of Francophonie, an important international forum aimed at promoting the development of French teaching in our country,” he added.
Garibashvili “welcomed” the help of France, one of the largest international donors to Georgia over the years, including the involvement of the Agency French from Developmentand stressed the “excellent cooperation” between the countries in the strategic area of defense and security and stressed the support for Georgia military personnelin the context of the military operations of the European Union and NATO as “valuable contributions to international peace and international security”.
French Ambassador to Georgia Sheraz Gasri meets with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili at the Bastille Day reception. Photo via Government Administration
In key moments of our history, even the most painful ones, France has always stood by the side of the Georgian people. “Allow me once again to express our sincere gratitude to the French nation for the crucial role played by France during the 2008 war,” said the Prime Minister, reaffirming “the firm will and determination” of his government, “close and consistent ” to pursue “fruitful” cooperation with France.
In his speech, the prime minister also said that Georgia “greatestly appreciates” France’s support in the “irreversible process” of the country’s integration into the EU and NATO, adding that Georgia’s full integration into the bloc and alliance is “a decision of the country” The Georgian people is a historic opportunity to definitively anchor Georgia in a community whose values and vision of the world they deeply share.”
