GD PM Speaks Peace, Economy, Relations with EU and Russia at Antalya Diplomacy Forum
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum taking place in Turkey from April 11 to 13. As part of the forum, Kobakhidze participated in a panel discussion and held a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. On April 12, Kobakhidze also held meetings with the PM of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, and the Secretary General of CoE, Alain Berset, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. GD Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili was also present at the forum, meeting with OSCE’s Secretary General and several countries’ officials.
Speaking at the panel “Search for Partnerships in the Era of Multi-polarization,” Kobakhidze explained that Georgia continues economic engagement with Russia and prioritizes “peaceful and pragmatic vision” with Moscow. He further reiterated the GD party’s widely-spread claims that Georgia was pressured to enter the war in Ukraine in 2022 and said that in the current geopolitical situation, diplomacy is “extremely weak.”
Multipolar World
Kobakhidze said that a multipolar world presents a great challenge but also provides opportunities for all countries, “including small countries like Georgia.” He emphasized trade and economic diplomacy as the primary directions of the GD government’s foreign policy. He said: “We try our best to deepen our partnerships across the world… expanding our economic partnerships, trade partnerships with different countries”, and stressed that “Georgia has free trade agreements with around 50 countries”.
Economy
Kobakhidze boasted of Georgia’s economic development, saying that the country’s “average economic growth since 2021 has been 9.4%,” which he said was the highest figure in Europe. Kobakhidze also said that Georgia is striving to restore its historical function as a link between the West and the East, Europe and Asia, stressing “The key to everything is peace.”
Peace
“Peace” was the focus of the GD Prime Minister’s speech. He said “Everybody, I think, should be concentrated on strengthening the peace around us, and we are very happy that we are doing it together with Türkiye, which is also promoting a very peaceful vision for development.”
He stated that Georgia “has always played a very positive role in strengthening peace in the region, in the South Caucasus.”
Relations with Russia
Kobakhidze mentioned the unresolved conflict over Georgia’s Russian-occupied territories Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region and stated that in this light, the GD is “following a very peaceful vision, a pragmatic vision,” with the Russian Federation.
Adding more on Russia he said “We have no diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, but at the same time, we are pursuing kind of intensive economic policies.”
Relations with the EU
Despite the fact that Georgia’s relations with the European Union are at the lowest, with the accession process halted by the GD’s decision, Kobakhidze argued that the GD’s foreign policy priority is to become a member of the EU. He acknowledged that the country faces “some challenges in this respect,” adding, “we are hopeful that with restoring peace around us, especially in the region, the integration path of Georgia will be promoted more intensively.”
War in Ukraine and Georgia
In a follow-up exchange, Kobakhidze offered a bleak view of diplomacy’s role amid ongoing global conflicts. Reflecting on the outbreak of Russia’s war against Ukraine, he alleged that Georgia had received “requests” in February 2022 to engage in the conflict, a common narrative routinely used by GD authorities.
He claimed that “there was a very rough political interest against Georgia, and in this situation, of course, diplomacy was not really helpful.”
According to him, the GD government has launched a “very intense political fight for “defending Georgia’s national interest and for defending peace in Georgia,” adding that “it was just only a political fight without any power of diplomacy.“
Role of Diplomacy
Kobakhidze described the current geopolitical climate as one where the power of diplomacy is “extremely weak”. He said that some Georgian ambassadors are left “without any practical kind of job” in “some specific countries” because “it’s just impossible to deal” with these unnamed countries, and added that Ambassadors there “complain quite frequently.”
Nevertheless, he maintained that once peace is restored globally, “diplomacy will prevail” and regain its function. “We are patiently waiting for the times of peace when diplomacy will gain more power,” he said.
Kobakhidze’s Meeting with Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
On April 11, within the framework of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, GD PM Irakli Kobakhidze met with the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. According to a press release from the GD government, the two leaders emphasized the positive dynamics of their countries’ strategic partnership and discussed prospects for deepening cooperation across various sectors. They also highlighted their joint efforts to promote peace and stability in the region.
President Aliyev’s administration also released the information regarding the meeting. It said, “Both sides emphasized the historically strong friendship and strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Georgia,” and added that the meeting stressed “the importance of unity and solidarity between Azerbaijan and Georgia, particularly given the current global turbulence.”
“He [Aliyev] underscored the importance of ensuring that regional issues in the South Caucasus are resolved by the countries of the region themselves,” the release read.
Georgian Dream PM Meeting with Victor Orbán
On April 12, Kobakhidze met with the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán. According to him, the meeting aimed to emphasize the importance of deepening bilateral cooperation, and both parties reaffirmed their readiness “to foster a partnership aimed at strengthening our political and economic ties.”
PM Orbán addressed the meeting on social media. He wrote that Hungary and Georgia “share a strong strategic partnership,” which is based on “shared cultural and Christian heritage.”
“Our cooperation on energy diversification and regional stability continues to grow,” he added.
Kobakhidze’s Talk with Alain Berset, Secretary General of CoE
Within the framework of the forum, Kobakhidze also held a meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset.
According to Kobakhidze, during the meeting, he “emphasized the importance of cooperation with the Council of Europe, contributing to democratic reform processes on the European integration path,” and both parties reiterated their commitment to maintain “an active dialogue.”
Kobakhidze Meets Erdoğan, the President of Turkey
Irakli Kobakhidze held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, discussing the prospects of deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries. Following the meeting, Kobakhidze wrote on X that the sides “held productive talks on the prospects of deepening strategic partnership both in bilateral and multilateral formats” and stressed the need for “strengthening our sectoral cooperation to ensure economic progress and long-term security for our region and beyond.”
Botchorishvili’s Diplomatic Engagements
On April 12, as part of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum proceedings, GD Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili held talks with several officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of North Macedonia, Timcho Mucunski; the Minister of Foreign Relations of Botswana, Phenyo Butale; the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Maldives, Abdulla Khaleel; Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, Gordan Grlić-Radman; the OSCE Secretary General, Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu; the Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Kairat Sarybay and the Secretary General of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Lazar Comănescu.
Botchorishvili participated in the panel on the issues of the South Caucasus, along with Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan of Armenia and Jeyhun Bayramov of Azerbaijan.
Botchorishvili also met with her Kuwaiti counterpart, Abdullah Al-Yahya, to discuss cooperation in trade, investment, and tourism. The sides discussed an initiative to establish a joint commission for economic cooperation. They noted an increase in the number of Kuwaiti visitors to Georgia, facilitated by regular direct flights.
The Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which is hosted by Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gathers “global leaders, policymakers, academics, business experts and as well as representatives of media and civil society to explore how diplomacy can turn the tide and navigate us through a fragmented world to find a common ground for collective action.”
This news was updated on April 11 at 19:50 to include information regarding GD PM Irakli Kobakhidze’s meeting with the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and on April 16:20 to add the information about Kobakhidze’s meeting with Viktor Orbán and Alain Berset.
A further update on April 13 at 14:00 added information regarding Kobakhidze’s meeting with Turkish President Erdoğan and Botchorishvili’s additional diplomatic engagements.
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- 25/02/2025 – Kobakhidze Slams EU Ambassador as “Complicit in Violence”
- 06/02/2025 – GD PM Irakli Kobakhidze Visits Kazakhstan
- 24/01/2025 – Kobakhidze Blames “Deep State” and GWP for War in Ukraine
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