The FINANCIAL — Yesterday, on September 21, the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili and the world leaders, took part in a high-level meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. The event was held online due to the pandemic. In a video address to the leaders of the UN member states and the public, Zurabishvili spoke about current global challenges and proposed four pillars to achieve ‘the future we want’, which she said are peace, a viable planet, an inclusive, healthy and educated citizens in a culturally developed society.
President Zurabishvili focused on the Russian occupation of Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia and said that the time has come for a fresh look, out of an intolerably frozen situation, at the opportunities that the new world paradigm opens and be ready for testing new solutions. In her speech, the President also emphasized the need for sustainable energy transition and resource management, according to civil.ge
Zurabishvili stressed that celebrating its 75th anniversary, UN is at a crossroads: Global threats from terrorism to climate change and now pandemic require more unity and solidarity, while they increase tensions and multiply factors of division. She said that multilateralism itself is put in question. “While presenting the world with new and huge challenges, global threats force us to take a fresh look at the existing practices of management in our lives, our societies and our governance systems. This means new opportunities if we are able to see and seize them. If we can look outwards and not inwards.” – president added, as reported by Georgian Public Broadcasting.
Zurabishvili also stated that the “UN we need is one that will inspire our citizens, create trust and bring effective leadership”. Zurabishvili then stressed that ‘the future we want’ is based on four pillars: peace, a viable planet, an inclusive and healthy society and educated citizens, adding that the future of ‘our old but young organisation is in our hands. “For such a future to take form, we need to respect our principles and treat the (UN) Charter and the Sustainable Development Agendas, not as words on paper, but as concrete goals that need political will and commitment,” she added, according to local media agenda.ge
President stated that the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire has not yet been heeded. Although Georgia sees the consequences of isolation in the Russian-occupied territories on a daily basis, Georgia is not ready to accept the damage caused by the occupation to human life and rights, according to Zurabishvili. She said that we have all witnessed how the locks have had a positive impact on our environment and changed our perceptions. Then she added that the spread of the coronavirus woke everyone up and Georgia responded to the pandemic in a timely manner and was able to minimize its impact on the vulnerable population.
As president mentioned this has been made possible through a “Triangle of Trust” established between the public, medical authorities and the state, and in close collaboration with international partners. “Trust and solidarity will be crucial for our societies to develop the resilience they need for tomorrow. Despite threats to information security and security, the development of the Internet has created new opportunities for education, culture and creative growth.” – Zurabishvili added.
“Great to see President Zurabishvili addressing UNGA with a concise yet powerful and straight to the point statement on the occasion of UN 75 anniversary. Georgia and Ukraine have many things to defend at UN and work in New York shoulder to shoulder.” – Tweeted Ukrainian diplomat Sergiy Kyslytsya.
It is interesting to note that on September 16, The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has approved a report on Implementation of the EU Association Agreement, initiated by Sven Mixer, with Georgia. At the plenary session, 552 MEPs voted in favor of the document, 61 against and 78 abstentions. The report says that Georgia has remained committed to the implementation of the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area and is continuing its alignment with the EU standards, which is bringing increasing benefits. Read more.
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