PM Garibashvili Says Gov't Ready for 'Constructive Dialogue' with Opposition
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
The Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili within the framework of Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer's visit to Tbilisi held a press conference together with Nehammer after the meeting between the two parties
The Prime Minister said in his speech that most of the recommendations of the European Union have already been implemented, several recommendations have been sent to the Venice Commission, and the implementation of the first recommendation, which concerns the end of polarization, is impossible without cooperation with the opposition.
"We have understood this well, it is our responsibility. Our entire team, the authorities, are working with this responsibility and spirit on the recommendations that were presented to us and conveyed to Georgia. From the very first days, we started working actively on this topic. The Parliament of Georgia has done a lot of work in this direction together with the government. Most of the recommendations have already been implemented, with a few remaining that have been sent to the Venice Commission. The involvement of the opposition is also necessary here, because the first recommendation, which is about ending polarization, cannot be achieved without cooperation with the opposition," Garibashvili stated.
According to the Prime Minister, the government is always ready for a constructive dialogue with the opposition. Garibashvili added that the Georgian government understands very well that there are certain criteria and requirements that must be met
"We have always been and are ready to open the door and have a permanent dialogue with the opposition. This dialogue should be in a constructive format," he said.
Gharibashvili also noted that in the last 10 years, the government has achieved all possible progress on the path of European integration, for example, the signing of the association agreement, the free trade agreement with Europe, visa-free travel and the historic decision on the country's European perspective.
"I would like to thank Austria, our friendly state and Mr. Chancellor personally for this. We greatly appreciate Austria's support for our country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and now for our country's European aspirations," he said.
Relations between Austria and Georgia are at the highest political level. Today's visit is a confirmation of that. Once again, we would like to thank our esteemed guest. We also discussed how to deepen relations in other areas such as trade, economy, tourism and investment. "Georgia is a very interesting place for making investments," Garibashvili stated.
