U.S., Georgia reaffirm friendship at presidential meeting

The January 30 meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been assessed by both sides as comprehensive and fruitful.

President Obama began his welcoming remarks with a brief overview of Georgia’s achievements in democratic and economic development, praising the country's many reforms, but also reminding Georgia that he is “anticipating fair and free elections” and a “formal power transfer".

“One of the first things that I did was express my appreciation for the institution-building that’s been taking place in Georgia - the importance of making sure that minorities are respected; the importance of a police system of rule of law that is being observed - the kind of institution-building that is going to make an enormous difference in the future of not just this generation of Georgians, but future generations of Georgians,” said Obama after the hour-long meeting with his Georgian counterpart at the White House.

“I want to express my appreciation for the work that’s been done in the past, but also anticipating fair and free elections here; the formal transfer of power that will be taking place in Georgia, which I think will solidify many of these reforms that have already taken place,” he continued..

Regarding the upcoming Georgian elections, Saakashvili said in his remarks that this year’s parliamentary elections “will mark bringing in another political system, [a] constitution system with more parliamentary government,” adding, “As you [Obama] rightly mentioned, next year [a] new President will be elected in Georgia. And that’s also important because [we] will move our democracy forward and will generally get much more to a diversified and pluralistic political scene.”

Obama said that the issue of strengthening an “already a very strong bilateral relationship" was discussed, and that the possibility of a free trade agreement with Georgia would be explored.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of work to be done and there are going to be a lot of options that are going to be explored. The key point, though, is we think it’s a win-win for the United States and for Georgia as we continue to find opportunities for businesses to invest in Georgia, for us to be able to sell Georgia our goods and services, and Georgia to be able to sell theirs as well,” he explained.

Saakashvili thanked his American counterpart for his mention of a much-anticipated free trade agreement, saying that it would help “to attract lots of additional activity to my country, and basically [help] our nation-building process."

Referring to defense and security issues, President Obama thanked the Georgian leader for his country’s “extraordinary contributions” to the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan, describing Georgia as “one of the most dedicated contributors outside of NATO to the ISAF effort, adding: “and in fact, [Georgia has] taken on some significant casualties as a consequence of those efforts.”

“We have talked about how we will continue to strengthen our defense cooperation, and there are a wide range of areas where we are working together," he continued. "And I reaffirmed to the President and assured him that the United States will continue to support Georgia’s aspirations to ultimately become a member of NATO.”

Obama concluded his remarks by praising the model of democracy and transparency that Georgia is to become in the Caucasus region.

Saakashvili expressed satisfaction with these remarks, and thanked the Obama administration for what he called, "an important message back to my nation." He added that he "will be leaving this office very happy because we basically got what we wanted to get.”

Georgian officials offered a positive assessment of the meeting. According to Parliamentary Chair David Bakradze, there were four victories for Georgia to come out of the conversation.

“First, is the statement of President Obama on a free trade agreement with the U.S., which will bolster Georgia’s economy and create more jobs. Second is the new stage of U.S.-Georgian cooperation in defense and security, which includes U.S. support for Georgia’s NATO integration, as well as strengthening Georgian defensive potential. Third, I would note that President Obama assessed Georgian democracy as successful, and a good model for the region. Also according to the moods of both participants, it can be said that the meeting was very friendly and cordial,” he explained.

Georgia’s ambassador to the United States, Temur Yakobashvili, was also pleased. “The visit... is indeed a very important fact for Georgia, since only a few leaders have had the honor to be invited to the White House," with the exception of leaders of very large countries, he noted. "This visit is another highlight of the special relations between our countries. The most important is that issues not have only been discussed, but also concrete decisions have been made.”

Political analyst Vasil Chkoidze was surprised by some of the content of the meeting. “There were some anticipated directions, for instance cooperation in defense, strengthening of bilateral relations, NATO integration support. However, there were some pleasant surprises such as negotiations on a free trade agreement. Such a comprehensive approach to Georgia is very serious emphasis that Georgia is not only a military partner, but also a trade partner as well.”

Tengiz Pkhaladze, head of the Geopolitical Research Centre, saw the meeting as putting an end to speculation about American commitment to Georgian defense and security. “It is very good when the U.S. expresses readiness to cooperate with Georgia on defense issues. It puts an end to all those speculations, the recent Defense Authorization Act among them, that Georgia is not a priority for the U.S. regarding this issue." He also hailed talk of economic integration, saying that "When the U.S. openly expressed readiness on cooperation on a free trade agreement with Georgia, it is a direct message to the European Union to sign a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement with Georgia."