Speech by H.E. Mrs. Dessislava Ivanova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Georgia on the occasion of 24^th of May - Day of the Holy Brothers St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and the Slavic Literature

"Each year on 24^th of May the Republic of Bulgaria and Bulgarians around the world celebrate the Day of the Holy Brothers St. Cyril andSt. Methodius, the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and the Slavic Literature. That’s the official name of the Day. For all us Bulgarians, but this is shortly the Day of Our Letters.

This day has been celebrated in Bulgaria for nearly 160 years now making it the longest celebrated holiday in the country’s late history, cherished almost as a Second National Day.

24th of May is a Day that has no analogue in the rich pantheon of the Bulgarian festive calendar. For us Bulgarians it is the Day of our letters. The day on which all first grade students declare and celebrate the fact of their literacy. This is the professional day of all teachers, professors at Universities, of all people engaged in culture and education, of all of us that have ever been part of the school system! This means – literally everybody.

This is the day of the Bulgarian literature, enlightenment and culture. It is an occasion to celebrate the unbreakable Bulgarian strive towards spiritual rising, cultural achievements and knowledge.

With the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union on 1 January 2007, Cyrillic alphabet – the alphabet that we celebrate today, became the third official script of the European Union, following Latin and Greek.

This is the script, created at the end of the IX century in the Bulgarian Medieval State, through which nowadays around 250 million people in the world express themselves. And we could only be proud and happy -  as the Patriarch of the Bulgarian Literature Ivan Vazov said - that we were in a position to share this cultural treasure with the rest of the world.  

In mid IX century the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius created in then Moravia the first Slavic alphabet – the so called Glagolitic alphabet, whose letters were based on the three holy elements of Christianity - cross, triangle, and circle, and started translating in it the main Christian Orthodox scripts in order to spread the influence of Christianity. The letters, created by St. Cyril and St. Methodius, their translations of the liturgical books, their fight to protect the rights of all nations to do honor of God in their own languages have a historical significance for the mankind.  

Subsequently, towards the end of IX century - after the death of Cyril and Methodius, acting under the auspice of the Bulgarian King and in the territory of the then Medieval Bulgarian State, the Glagolitic alphabet, created by the Holy Brothers, was modified by their renowned disciples – later known as St. Kliment of Ohrid and St. Naum of Preslav. This second Slavonic alphabet, that is still in use - was called Cyrillic in honor of the great teacher.

Coming into existence in the First Bulgarian Kingdom, the new script became during the centuries the basis of alphabets used in various languages, especially those of Orthodox Slavic origin, but not only.  

All Bulgarians consider the life and work of the Holy Brothers and their disciples humanistic, democratic and part of the general human idea for equality in the spiritual field.

24^th of May has a profound significance for the Bulgarian national development and the prosperity of the Bulgarian nation, as well as to the re-awakening of the Bulgarian self-awareness during our Renaissance and National Revival in XVIII-XIX century".

Happy 24^th of May to all of us!

On April 19, 2021, at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, a ceremony was held to present the WIPO Director General, Mr. Darren Tang, of the Instrument of Accession to the Patent Law Treaty (2000), signed by the President of  Turkmenistan.

 During the ceremony, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN Office at Geneva A.Khaljanov noted Turkmenistan's commitment to constructive dialogue with authoritative international organizations, in particular with WIPO.

 Expressing gratitude to the Turkmen side for acceding to the international legal documents of WIPO, Director General D. Tang welcomed the joint work of the Government of Turkmenistan with the Organization to develop a new "Program for the development of the intellectual property system in Turkmenistan for 2021-2025".

On March 22, 2021, Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, met with Kelly Degnan, Ambassador of the United States of America to Georgia.

The topic of discussion was the situation of human rights in Georgia. The Public Defender also spoke about the challenges faced by the Office, especailly in recent months, and the obstacles that hinder the full implementation of the Public Defender's mandate, for example when paying visits to semi-open prisons.

"Another visit paid by the US Ambassador to the Public Defender’s Office once again confirms the support that has been constantly expressed by the US Government to our Office," Nino Lomjaria said.

“It was a very informative meeting. It's important to have conversations with the Public Defender and find out what they are working on. It is an essential part of a strong democracy to have a Public Defender's Office that is defending the human rights of all the people of Georgia, working to keep transparency and accountability and democracy strong. I was very sorry to hear that there have been some attacks against the Public Defender's Office. That kind of hate speech is a toxic language, especially against an office that is serving the public in such an important way.

The Public Defender's Office also plays such an important role in keeping public officials accountable, something that Georgia needs to do more; more accountability, more transparency and less hate speech and vicious attacks against others“, the US Ambassador said after the meeting.

Public Defender of Georgia

The Chair of the EU Integration Committee, Maka Botchorishvili held the meeting with the Ambassador of the Czech Republic, H.E. Petr Mikyska.

The diplomat expressed the Czech Republic's unwavering support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as for Georgia's European aspirations.

During the meeting, the Czech Ambassador echoed to Georgia's foreign policy priorities, including the application for EU membership in 2024, noting that full implementation of the Association Agreement in this regard is the right strategy.

The parties underlined the close cooperation between the countries in various fields. For her part, M. Botchorishvili expressed gratitude for the support provided by the Czech Republic to Georgia.

During the meeting, the issue of grasping the DCFTA between Georgia and the European Union was discussed. The sides discussed Georgia's export strategies to the EU and in this regard, and stressed the need for close cooperation between businesses.

M. Botchorishvili and P. Mikyska spoke about the dangers posed by disinformation and hybrid war in Georgia and noted that the support of the EU and partner countries in this direction is very important for the country.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Turkey to Georgia, H.E Fatma Ceren Yazgan introduced a new military attaché to the Minister of Defence of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili. Colonel Burak Altiner replaced Colonel Bülent Akdeniz on the position of military attaché of the Republic of Turkey to Georgia.

At the meeting Irakli Garibashvili and Fatma Ceren Yazgan talked about bilateral cooperation issues between Georgia and Turkey. Defence Minister expressed appreciation for the material-technical assistance provided by the Turkish Armed Forces and for extensive cooperation in military education sphere. The sides expressed confidence that bilateral interactions between Georgian and Turkish defence establishments will be further enhanced.

Source: https://mod.gov.ge/en/news/read/8011/ambassador-of-turkey-to-georgia-introduced-a-new-military-attaché-to-the-georgian-defence-minister

Perfect Opportunity to Reaffirm U.S. Government Support for Anaklia Port Project

TBILISI, GEORGIA, 13 November 2020 – The Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) today issued the following statement in advance of the 17-18 November visit to Georgia by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo:

“The Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) and its investors welcome the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Georgia, and expect Secretary Pompeo and Ambassador Degnan will express to the Georgian Government their continued support for a port project at Anaklia.”

“It was just last year (11 June 2019) that Secretary Pompeo offered a strong endorsement of support for the Anaklia Project following his meeting with then-Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, when he told the press:

“I communicated our hope that Georgia completes the (Anaklia) port project. The project and others will enhance Georgia’s relationship with free economies and prevent Georgia from falling prey to Russian or Chinese economic influence. Those pretend friends do not have Georgia’s best interests at heart.”

“The timing and purpose of Secretary Pompeo’s visit invites an examination of the Georgian Government’s purported commitment to seeing through the development of a world-class port at Anaklia. While this commitment was expressed directly to both Secretary Pompeo and Ambassador Degnan, recent developments show that the Georgian Government’s commitment to Anaklia was a hollow one.

“The Georgian Government’s duplicitous and unlawful actions in relation to the Anaklia project has caused considerable financial losses for its U.S., European and Georgian investors and unfortunately now led to international arbitration proceedings being commenced against Georgia, which create a considerable financial risk for the state and will serve to discourage foreign investment in Georgia at a time when Georgia most needs it.

“Beyond the Anaklia project, the actions of the current Government over the past year certainly raise questions about its commitment to implementing meaningful judicial and governance reforms, which are important for increasing foreign investment and strengthening the Georgian economy. 

“We wish Secretary Pompeo all success during his visit to Georgia and his meetings with the Government.”

Further details of the Anaklia Port project and ADC can be found at http://anakliadevelopment.com

On October 2, 2020, the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Georgia held an

International online Conference dedicated to the 25^th Anniversary of Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan and the 75^thAnniversary of the UN.

The Conference was attended by representatives of Diplomatic missions and International Organizations accredited in Georgia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Georgian Technical University, Grigol Robakidze University, Georgian mass media.

Ambassador of Turkmenistan in Georgia Mr.Dovletmyrat Muratov, the UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia Dr.Sabine Machl,  President of Georgia Red Cross Society and the Governing Board Member of IFRC Ms.Natia Loladze, Head of Delegation  of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in South Caucasus Ms.Olga Dzhumaeva, Head of Delegation of International  Committee of  Red Cross (ICRC) in Georgia Ms. Severine Chappaz,

Director of the Center for History, Geopolitics and Economic Research of the Caucasus of the Georgian Technical University Mr.Nikoloz Metreveli, Executive Director of TV 24, Professor, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Political Scientist, Honored Journalist of Georgia Mr.Badri Nachkebia were addressed the conference.

Speakers congratulated Turkmen people on the significant date - 25^th Anniversary of the Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan. They noted that having declared itself to be a neutral State, Turkmenistan adheres to the principles of good-neighbourliness, mutual respect, justice and equality and implements a foreign policy aimed at universal peace, security and well-being throughout the world. It was highlighted that Turkmenistan strongly believes in the future of the UN and will continue to strengthen and build up strategic partnership with this organization, thereby making its contribution to unlocking its inexhaustible potential in the interests of global peace, security and progress.

During the conference, it was also noted that another book of the President of Turkmenistan “Spiritual world of Turkmens” that has been published, will be interesting and useful to a wide readership.

Conference’s participants were shown a video dedicated to the 25^th Anniversary of Turkmenistan’s Neutrality.