“It is truly commendable how Georgian diplomacy lent a helping hand to Georgian citizens by enabling us, a small country with limited economic resources, to return them to Georgia, the Prime Minister said in his online speech during annual meeting of the heads of Georgian diplomatic missions abroad, Ambassadors Conference 2020-Priorities of Georgia’s Foreign Policy through the Pandemic, New Challenges and Opportunities.

Giorgi Gakharia thanked the diplomats for their efforts in the fight against the pandemic in 2020.

”Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for our diplomatic corps’ work throughout 2020, in the process of fighting against the pandemic, to protect the rights and health of our citizens, above all else-our citizens who, for different reasons, happened to be in your host countries, some working or seeking medical services, and others studying. It is truly commendable how Georgian diplomacy lent a helping hand to Georgian citizens by enabling us, a small country with limited economic resources, to return them to Georgia. Trust me, this has been duly appreciated by every Georgian.

Effective and pragmatic diplomacy must be the task number one in 2021, as the only way to turn the pandemic from a challenge into an opportunity for the country.

This is our key task, and this is an opportunity for all small countries. We must understand that the way we deal with the pandemic-in terms of healthcare, epidemiological, economic, political, or social life, and I must also recall the elections we held-is the starting point giving Georgia a competitive head start, however small, in the global post-pandemic competition that is about to unfold before our eyes. As you know, a vaccine will become available, and the global competition will be nothing like before, much like the world will never be the same, so will be the competition, and it is our task to win a small head start for our country in the global post-pandemic competition, to enabling it to have better results”, - said the Head of the Government.

He also singled out EU integration as Georgia’s historic goal and emphasized that the goal of this year and the whole 4-year electoral cycle is to prepare the country for its historical goal, historical dream, of applying for full EU membership.

“Though an ambitious plan, given what the country has achieved in the past few years, this is the step each of our citizens expects, the goal toward which we all must work daily, which is why your 2021 action plan will include further deepening the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration as the top priority. Aligning Georgia with Europe in every dimension, including physical, is our key goal. We must align standards in every direction: economy, business, culture, and education, and we must do everything to make sure that, four years from now, the country is fully prepared-this is our goal”, - said the Prime Minister.

He also underlined cooperation with NATO and the subsequent tangible progress in the area of defense.

“The NATO direction is, of course, of crucial importance. In terms of defense in general, we have had clear progress over the past few years, as recognized by both our international partners and, importantly, by the Georgian defense forces. They just see past few years" progress of the Georgian army, and this is our priority direction”, - concluded Giorgi Gakharia.