David Zalkaliani has hosted the non-resident ambassadors

On 3 September 2021, the Vice Prime Minister/Minister of Foreign Affairs, Davit Zalkaliani hosted the non-resident ambassadors at the Palace of Ceremonies.The Foreign Minister congratulated the foreign diplomats on their appointment to new positions and wished them success in their future activities, he also stressed the importance of coordinated work.


"The need to stay together and coordinate efforts was best demonstrated by the coronavirus pandemic when, amid border closures and other restrictive measures, the issue of repatriation, development of new cargo regulations and the provision of essential medical equipment and vaccines was put on the agenda" – David Zalkaliani said.

According to him, Georgia is a responsible member of the international community, which respects and unwaveringly adheres to the norms and principles of international law and calls on others to do the same.

The Foreign Minister briefed the ambassadors on Georgia's future plans, spoke about the key aspects of the country's foreign policy and underlined the main challenge facing Georgia - the occupation of Georgian territories.

"The Georgian government is making every effort to de-occupy Georgian territories, resolve the conflict peacefully, reconcile societies divided by occupation lines and unite the country with the support and effective involvement of the international community. We have just started the most important process - we have set up a government commission to develop and implement a state strategy for de-occupation and peaceful resolution of the conflict.

"A few weeks ago, I presented the 10-year foreign policy plan to the public, emphasizing that along with the restoration of Georgia's territorial integrity, another key task before us is Georgia’s membership in the EU and NATO - the historic choice of the Georgian people enshrined in the Constitution" Zalkaliani said.

According to him, Georgia is actively involved in the strengthening of global and regional security.

"As a future member of the Euro-Atlantic family, we are trying to contribute to maintaining the European security architecture. Georgia is actively cooperating with its western partners to address such security challenges as terrorism, hybrid threats, cybercrime, reduction of energy dependence, global climate change, arms control and non-proliferation" - he said.
Davit Zalkaliani also focused his attention on Georgia’s important role in ensuring global security.

"Georgia’s unique role and function in the context of global security was further attested by Georgia's recent involvement in the humanitarian and evacuation processes during the recent crisis in Afghanistan. Up to 2,500 civilians were evacuated and several dozen transit flights were performed through the regional transit hub set up at the Tbilisi International Airport," Zalkaliani said.

It should be noted that a total of 24 non-resident ambassadors arrived in Georgia. On 1-3 September, they held meetings with the Deputy Foreign Affairs Ministers of Georgia, after which they presented their credentials to the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili.