2018-09-11
In the opening remarks of his speech at the Tbilisi International Conference organized by the McCain Institute and the Economic Policy Research Center, Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze called to mind the September 11 tragedy and Georgia's great friend Senator McCain.
"Today its 11th of September... 17 years ago this tragedy happened and united freedom loving people around the world to fight against terrorism.
And it is very symbolic that we have gathered in Tbilisi, Georgia at a conference, which is named after a great person, a great American, a wholehearted supporter of our independence and freedom all around the world. Senator McCain has been next to our nation in the toughest period in our recent history. And, of course, my nation and the Georgian people will never forget this," the Prime Minister said.
The Head of Government, in his speech, emphasized Georgia's European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and emphasized that this though path is full of challenges, Georgia has been quite successful in its pursuit.
"Everybody understands that it is full of challenges, but NATO says that they have an open door policy, and that Georgia has all practical tools to become a full member of NATO. Therefore, of course, our expectations are very optimistic. Of course, we do understand that this decision will be affected by the geopolitical situation, but we are absolutely optimistic and we are trying our best. I think that the recent NATO Summit showed the commitment to the values of NATO is really of highest importance. You know that Georgia is among the nations spending more than 2% of our GDP, and that is a really big part of our small economy. We are trying our best and more members in NATO have this feeling that Georgia deserves to become a full member. In Brussels, once again it was stated that eventually Georgia will become a member of NATO," Mamuka Bakhtadze stated.
Prime Minister's Press Office