Ms Sofia Katsarava:

I am honoured and delighted to be speaking at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence. I extend my most sincere personal gratitude to the Chairman of the committee, Mr. Brendan Smith, for giving me this unique opportunity to address this distinguished audience.

Today I want to talk to the committee about Georgia's aspirations for membership of the EU and NATO. I would also like to reflect on ways to respond to existing security challenges in Georgia and the wider European region. Lastly, but most important, I would like to suggest ways to deepen bilateral relations further between Ireland and Georgia in the future.

The opportunity the committee has afforded me to speak to the committee is a sign of the positive current dynamic in parliamentary ties between our countries. These ties have intensified since the visit of Chairman of the committee to Tbilisi last year. The exchange of high-level parliamentary delegations is vital to achieve tangible results in different areas of co-operation between our countries.

Georgia's aspiration for full membership of the EU is a key foreign policy goal that will inevitably bring Ireland and Georgia closer in the future. It is a declared choice of our citizens to see Georgia become a full member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This decision is reaffirmed by the Constitution of Georgia. In the past decade Georgia has made great strides to bring itself closer to the European and euro-Atlantic family. We have implemented a series of comprehensive reforms that have transformed Georgia into a modern European country with vibrant political life, rule of law, open governance, media pluralism, a growing economy and favourable investment environment. Georgia has improved its rankings in virtually all aspects, including the democracy index and economic liberalisation.

All this was made possible by consistent and effective reforms developed and implemented in close co-operation with our partner countries and international organisations. Support received in this process from our friends and partners is invaluable. In that context I express my deepest gratitude once again for the unwavering support of Ireland on our way towards EU integration.

The Association Agreement for the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU is fully operational and applied. It provides a concrete roadmap for modernisation across political, economic and social fields by introducing and applying the European standards. We believe that the revised association agenda for 2020, which defines a set of ambitious priorities and reform objectives, will bring Georgia closer to the EU. Georgian citizens continue to benefit from the visa-free travel regime. This is the most visible and tangible benefit for the entire population of Georgia and an additional incentive for the Government of Georgia to continue the pace of reforms.

The Georgian Government is fully committed to sustained reforms in all these visa liberalisation action plan-related areas, with particular attention given to the prevention of possible abuse of the asylum system in the Schengen countries. We continue effective co-operation with EU member states in the fight against the organised crime. Introduction of EU norms and standards has significantly stimulated the economy in Georgia and boosted trade relations with the EU. As a single market, the European Union has become the largest trade partner for Georgia. Trade increased by 2% in 2017, while exports increased by 13%. Approximation with EU policies has significantly upgraded our sectoral co-operation, while we continue extensive reforms in energy, transport, health care, agriculture, environment, research and innovations, education and other related fields.

The upcoming NATO summit in Brussels in July this year presents an excellent opportunity for NATO to reaffirm its commitment to Georgia’s eventual membership, which was promised ten years ago at the Bucharest summit. Since then, Georgia has achieved significant progress on its way to NATO membership, especially when it comes to the practical aspects of the process, using the NATO-Georgia Commission, NGC, the annual national programme, ANP, and the NATO-Georgia substantial package. We believe strongly that Georgia’s accomplishments in democratic transformation, its commitments to NATO integration and shared Euro-Atlantic security and its unprecedented practical co-operation with NATO should be adequately reflected in the upcoming discussions and decisions on the open door policy. Georgia also welcomes NATO’s increased presence in the Black Sea region and stands ready to co-operate actively with NATO on Black Sea security.

Georgia’s co-operation and integration with organisations like the EU and NATO are directly linked with our efforts to meet common security challenges on the regional and national level. Conflicts in Europe share similarities and common patterns, particularly in terms of the infringement of sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighbouring states. European security is being significantly challenged by Russia’s continuous aggressive actions against Georgia, namely, by the ongoing illegal military occupation of up to 20% of integral parts of Georgia’s sovereign territories. This dangerous pattern of arbitrarily altering international borders by force poses a significant threat not only to Georgia and Russia’s other neighbours under illegal occupation but also to the strategic vision of Europe as a whole.

The security and human rights situation in Georgia’s occupied regions is being further aggravated by the continued installation of barbed wire and razor wire fences and so called “border” signs along the occupation line. Killings, abductions, arbitrary detentions, seizure of property and restrictions on free movement, as well as restrictions on education in the native Georgian language - all based on ethnic grounds – are common phenomena. These illegal actions are an illustration of Russia’s deliberate policy towards the factual annexation of Georgia’s regions. On 23 February, the life of a Georgian citizen, Mr. Archil Tatunashvili, was taken in the occupied Tskhinvali region after he was illegally detained by the Russian occupation forces. His body was returned home after a month of delay with multiple signs of torture. This recent appalling and tragic loss of life is another reminder of the gravity of the situation on the ground. It calls for a joint, immediate and consolidated international reaction.

There has not been any progress on either the establishment of international security arrangements, ISAs, on the occupied territories, return of internally displaced persons, IDPs, and refugees to their places of origin or allowing UN human rights mechanisms into the occupied regions. It is essential that the EU monitoring mission is given unimpeded access to the occupied territories of Georgia. In that context, I take this opportunity to again express my gratitude to the Government of Ireland for deploying three Irish observers to serve with the EU monitoring mission in Georgia. We believe more needs to be done to deliver on tangible results. First and foremost, what is required is political will and commitment on the part of all stakeholders in the process.

I wish to extend sincere thanks for the first ever resolution, the motion on support for the territorial integrity of Georgia and its integration in to the European Union, which was adopted last year by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence in support of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally-recognised borders, as well as Georgia’s integration in the European Union. This resolution is a clear demonstration of genuine friendship between our nations and we highly value Ireland's steadfast support for Georgia’s key national priorities.

I am particularly delighted by the establishment of the Ireland-Georgia Friendship Group in the Oireachtas, as a result of our meeting in Tbilisi in July 2017. It was formally launched here yesterday. I am confident the effective work of the group will give additional impetus to further deepening bilateral co-operation between the legislative branches of our countries. My special thanks go to the Irish Government for its continued support for Georgia’s annual General Assembly resolution on securing the right of safe, dignified and voluntary return of internally displaced persons and refugees from Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, as well as for Ireland's overall support for Georgia’s positions and initiatives within international organisations.

Against the backdrop of this growing successful bilateral political dynamic, what we are missing are comprehensive trade and economic relations. A strategic location connecting Europe and Asia, robust economic reforms, a politically stable and corruption-free environment, a free business environment and low taxes are among the key variables that contribute to making Georgia an attractive investment destination. A solid track record of successful reforms bolstering the rule of law, reducing corruption and building effective, transparent and accountable institutions that focus on improving citizen’s lives through excellent public service delivery has earned Georgia a reputation as a state with modern, innovative approaches to good governance, anti-corruption strategies and participatory democracy. As chair of the Open Government Partnership, OGP, the global initiative, since September 2017, Georgia intends to share its experience and best practices in combatting corruption and creating institutionalised mechanisms for anti-corruption policy coordination and monitoring. These actions aim to ensure an opportunity for people to influence government decisions that affect their daily lives.

The advantage of being a transit country is increasing more and more in light of intensified infrastructure development in the country. This serves the purpose of raising awareness about the role of Georgia as a key link in the east-west corridor and a logistics hub. The development of the only deep sea port on the east coast of the Black Sea, Anaklia, and the Anaklia free industrial zone, as well as the building of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars international railway line and a new "Lapis Lazuli" transport corridor, to be developed between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, will breathe new life into the East-West trade route. In this context, Georgia is very much interested in the "One Belt - One Road" global economic project initiated by the President of China. All of these achievements in and advantages of Georgia’s investment environment are clearly reflected in almost all international economic rankings, which improve every year. With that, I wish to call for deeper bilateral trade and economic co-operation between Georgia and Ireland and kindly request the committee to mediate with the Government to initiate and facilitate Irish business delegation visits to Georgia in order to get first-hand information about investment opportunities.

Ireland's Global Footprint 2025 programme could serve as another effective mechanism for enhancing bilateral co-operation between our countries. More specifically, as Ireland plans to increase the number of its embassies worldwide, we hope that Tbilisi will be considered as one of the priority destinations for opening an Irish Embassy in the foreseeable future. There is another area where we have considerable space to improve people-to-people relations between Ireland and Georgia. As I mentioned above, since March 2017 Georgian citizens travel visa-free to the Schengen zone. Easing the visa regime for Georgian citizens travelling to Ireland will considerably facilitate people-to-people contacts and enhance business, tourism and cultural ties for the mutual benefit of our countries. As a starting point, we would welcome Ireland’s decision to waive the visa requirement for holders of Georgian diplomatic and service passports, considering that the holders of these passports are government officials travelling to Ireland for official meetings.

We are convinced that a diplomatic and service visa waiver will facilitate visits and intensified co-operation on both sides. Talking about diplomatic missions and embassies, I thank our ambassador to Ireland and his team here for the excellent job being delivered on the ground. In conclusion, let me underline one more time the vital importance of strong ties between Ireland and Georgia. Our countries our not only alike in terms of geographic size or our historical struggles for independence. We share a similar experience of acting as bridges between different continents. Ireland has long functioned as a bridge between Europe and the Americas, while Georgia, throughout its history, has acted as a bridge connecting Europe and Asia.

Two years ago Ireland celebrated 100 years since the 1916 Easter Rising. This year Georgia is marking 100 years since the founding of the Georgian Democratic Republic. I realise how much more there is to be shared between a mature European democracy like Ireland and a younger but rapidly progressing European democracy like Georgia.

I thank members for their kind attention and look forward to their questions.