Author: Tamazi Donauri

Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Wednesday said the country was taking “advanced positions” in the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators measuring the quality of governance. In his comments for presenting the revised version of the 2024 state budget in the Parliament, Khutsishvili told lawmakers Georgia “clearly stood out” not only in the Black Sea region but “also among European Union [membership] candidate countries”. According to the governance indicators of the World Bank, Georgia is ahead of 13 EU countries and all candidate countries in terms of regulation. In the indicator of corruption control, Georgia is ahead of 10 EU…

The “strong, strategic partnership” between Georgia and Azerbaijan and “the centuries-old good neighbourly relations” were discussed on Thursday by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ali Asadov. The sides reviewed the “most important” regional projects and the prospects of expanding cooperation in attracting direct investments. It was also highlighted that Azerbaijan was the fifth largest trade partner of Georgia according to the data of January-September of 2023, the Government Administration said. Garibashvili emphasised his country’s readiness to deepen regional partnership on energy security with Azerbaijan, based on common interests, with the officials highlighting the importance of Georgia-Turkey-Azerbaijan…

Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, on Thursday told a panel discussion within the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum that ties between Georgia and Gulf states had been “deepened”. AlBudaiwi highlighted the importance of the Forum and noted the Silk Road was significant for the six countries of the Persian Gulf and played a “significant role” in relations between states. “[I]n 2017 we signed an action plan between the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and Georgia, as a result of which relations were deepened and a…

Brussels, Frankfurt (10/11 -12) Words like ‘neocolonialism’ and ‘neo-imperialists’ are being tossed around by spokesmen of freshly-installed military regimes in Central and West Africa – but the language of their pronouncements is French, reflecting the centuries of invasion, cooperation, exploitation and alliance of France in the Sahel. Commonly referred to as ‘Francophone Africa’, the jigsaw puzzle of countries have in quite recent times seen a dramatic shift of power, and one not in its favor. Traditional cozy relationships with decades-long dictatorships – ostensibly democracies but controlled and corrupt in a heads-I-win-and-tails-you-lose elite pageantry are under serious siege. Look at hapless,…

Within the framework of the Silk Road Forum held in Tbilisi on October 26, Azerbaijan Railways JSC, Kazakhstan Railways JSC, and Georgian Railway JSC signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint venture on a parity basis, Azernews reports, citing Azerbaijan Railroads (ADY). Railroaders of the three countries have joined their efforts to develop multimodal transportation on the Trans-Caspian international transport route. LLC “Middle Corridor Multimodal” A new company called “International Financial Center Astana” is being established. Within the framework of joint activity, the company will provide services on the principle of “one window”, guarantee cargo delivery terms, and realize of…

“The irresponsible and nonsensical views of Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly targeting Azerbaijan have already become a tradition. Lately, while being in Armenia, the Canadian minister made statements accusing Azerbaijan. ” This statement was made by the Western Azerbaijani Community in response to false statements by the Canadian Foreign Ministry. The fact that the Canadian minister, who urged Azerbaijan to allow the return of Armenians from Garabagh, did not address the same appeal to the Armenian government regarding the return of expelled Azerbaijanis, and that Canada did not call on Armenia to end the occupation of Azerbaijani territories even once…

London (07/11 – 71) For ten years now, the authorities of Tajikistan have been engaged in forced assimilation of the ethnic Pamiri people, giving away the heartlands to China for debts,” Orzu M. shared with RFI – Radio France Internationale is a French news and current affairs public radio station that broadcasts worldwide. RFI met with Orzu in Paris, sharing the fact that more and more Pamiris are leaving their native homes in Gorno-Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous (GBAO) Region of Tajikistan; they are driven into exile by the persecution of the authorities, who are displacing indigenous peoples. RFI: How did it…

Uzbekenergotamir JSC has reached agreements with several Chinese companies aimed at energy development, which includes expanding and updating power grids, as well as creating and launching new power generation capacities, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz News Agency. The modernization of energy transportation systems will be carried out jointly with China Electric Power Equipment and Technology, a subsidiary of the State Grid Corporation of China. The parties intend to build new substations and power lines supporting digital technologies in a number of regions. China National Technical Import and Export Corp. will support the creation of new cogeneration stations in Tashkent. They will provide heating…

Robin Dunnigan, the newly appointed United States Ambassador to Georgia, on Thursday highlighted the importance of the fourth edition of the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, an event hosting more than 2,000 delegates and guests from up to 60 foreign states in the Georgian capital. Georgia’s Ministry of Economy cited Dunnigan as saying she appreciated the event, an initiative of Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and his Government, and called it “extremely important” for private and public sector representatives as well as leaders of the Middle Corridor logistics route countries to gather to support the development of the “important transit road”.…

The far-right leaders of Hungary and Poland have rejected a group statement on irregular migration as a summit of European leaders came to a close. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki shot down a proposed statement for inclusion in a document on the summit’s conclusion on Friday. The move forced European Council President Charles Michel to issue a separate statement in his name about asylum policy and border protection, and the French and German leaders said the legislative process on the issue would continue as planned. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who hosted the summit in Granada, dismissed…