New British Ambassador Presents Copies of Credentials to Georgian Foreign Minister

On August 13, the newly appointed British Ambassador to Georgia Gareth Ward presented copies of credentials to the Foreign Minister of Georgia Ilia Darchiashvili. He succeeds Ambassador Mark Clayton who had served in this position since 2020.

“The parties expressed satisfaction with the existing strategic partnership between the two countries, the cornerstone of which is the Wardrop Strategic Dialogue and which covers a wide range of political, defense and security, trade and economic, and people-to-people relations. In addition, the Minister expressed special gratitude for the United Kingdom’s unwavering support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Georgian MFA reported.

“The Ambassador of the United Kingdom, for his part, expressed his readiness to contribute to the further deepening of Georgian-British relations in his new post. He emphasized that the Great Britain will remain an unwavering supporter of Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic integration,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry added.

Georgian FM Darchiahshvili welcomed the new Ambassador. “I look forward to strengthening Georgia-UK bilateral relations and working together to further enhance mutual understanding and cooperation. Welcome to Georgia!” he tweeted.

The new Ambassador thanked Foreign Minister for his “warm welcome,” tweeting that the bilateral relations “matter to both our peoples for economic growth, for resilience against threats, and for our common security.”

“I will try to strengthen our cooperation on the Euro-Atlantic path,” Ambassador Ward added in the Georgian language.

Gareth Ward joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCDO) in 1996. He was the British Ambassador to Vietnam from August 2018 to July 2022. According to UK government information, Ambassador Ward’s expertise spans a diverse range of diplomatic areas, from his role as Deputy Director and Head of the China Department in the Asia Pacific Directorate of the FCDO from 2014 to 2017 to his role as Her Majesty’s Consul General in St Petersburg from 2010 to 2013. His diplomatic career began in 1998 when he served as Second Secretary (Political) at the UK Embassy in Moscow.

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