PM Appoints Head of his Administration Darchiashvili as Foreign Minister
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
The Prime Minister announced the resignation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the public on April 4. Davit Zalkaliani will continue to work as the Ambassador to the United States, and he will be replaced by the current head of the government administration Ilia Darchiashvili.
Zalkaliani addressed the public after the announcement of the decision. He recalled the history of his diplomatic activity and noted that he has been working in this field for 30 years.
The former minister spoke about the achievements during his ministry in the field of foreign policy and European integration.
“To deal with one of the main challenges of our country, which is occupation, Georgia has been able to clearly defend its position in all international formats. We have been represented everywhere and Georgia holds leading positions on all platforms. Our European and Euro-Atlantic integration is one of the top priorities of our foreign policy. I am proud that during our ministry we approved a foreign policy strategy document, which clearly outlined the main directions of foreign policy.
I am proud to have participated in the negotiation process of the Association Agreement with the PM, the initialing, and subsequent signing by the PM. Like in deep and comprehensive free trade, we have made significant progress in terms of visa liberalization and I think the most successful stage of our ministry was the application made for EU membership I wish Ilia success in this regard as it is the most serious challenge for our country as a whole. We need unity and consolidation, both in the executive and in the legislature as ever,” Zalkaliani said.
He also promised to continue his work in a new position with even higher responsibility and that during his tenure as Ambassador, our cooperation with the United States will reach a qualitatively higher level.
After being introduced by the PM, Darchiashvili said that each Georgian diplomat will continue to defend the best interests of the country abroad as usual.
The newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, met his deputies on his first day in office to stress that the Ministry would keep its focus on the fulfillment of strategic goals and objectives of Georgian foreign policy.
“Work will continue on Georgia's territorial integrity and de-occupation, promoting the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration process, deepening relations with strategic partners, encouraging trade and investment, and strengthening the Georgian diaspora, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.”
“Future efforts of the Ministry team will again be aimed at effectively addressing foreign policy challenges facing the country,” the release read.
Darchiashvili's professional career started at the Bank Republic, where he worked in different positions from 2003 to 2012. From 2012-to 2014 he worked at the Embassy of Georgia in the Republic of Poland. In 2014-2015 he became the First Deputy Director of the LEPL Municipal Development Fund of Georgia and later CEO of the same fund. He was the First Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia from 2015 to 2016. During the same period, he worked as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Georgian Airports Association.
The new foreign minister was the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia in 2016-2017; 2017-2021 - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of Poland, and from 2021 - Head of the Administration of the Government of Georgia.
