Related items

• AMBASSADOR DEGNAN'S REMARKS TO MEDIA AT SKILLS WEEK

  Question about the event

  Ambassador Degnan:  I’m very pleased to be here today, along with the Minister of Education, my EU colleague, and many other distinguished guests for the launch of Georgia’s Skills Week. The United States has been helping Georgia develop its education sector for years, including in the area of vocational education and training. This is because we want Georgian citizens to be able to acquire the skills they need through vocational education and training in order to get good paying jobs for rewarding lifelong careers. This is our latest program through USAID: industry-led skills bring together the private sector that coordinates with vocational education and training institutions to make sure that students are coming out with the skills that are needed in today’s market. The programs are designed to bring together the government, the private sector, vocational and education training institutions, and civil society to make sure that Georgians have the opportunity for better paying jobs and rewarding careers that are going to help both their families and their communities. So, we are delighted today to launch Skills Week, a weeklong celebration of the achievements that Georgia has made in this area.

  Question on designations on individuals associated with the Georgian judiciary and U.S. study tours for judges

  Ambassador Degnan: Our study tours have been popular and successful because they bring together judges from the United States with judges in Georgia and give them an opportunity to learn from each other and to share their best practices and lessons learned. Sometimes they talk about how they manage their courtrooms, the heavy workloads, or sometimes particularly interesting issues that come up during cases. Our programs are open to those who are qualified, as well as those who will benefit from these exchanges with American judges and maybe bring ideas back to their courtrooms. They’re also open to those who can go because this is a big time commitment. Sometimes, given the workloads of judges here, they’re not always able to go for the full two weeks; sometimes it’s even longer than two weeks. So, we are always delighted when Georgian judges choose to participate in our programs, and we usually have a lot of interest in them. We look forward to continuing this great exchange between Georgian and American judges.

  On your second question, Parliament created these investigatory commissions as a mechanism to look into issues that are important to the people of Georgia, to look into issues of the day that require greater transparency, and more information to allow the citizens of Georgia to be better informed and also to hold people accountable and provide transparency on important issues. So, the reason this mechanism was created by Parliament was to provide citizens with more information. I think it’s a very useful technique that’s been a mechanism that’s used in many different Parliaments, including the US Congress. We would hope that Parliament and Members of Parliament would make full use of these tools that they have created in the interest of their citizens. 

  Question on Helsinki Commission’s call for Nika Gvaramia’s release

  Ambassador Degnan: The Helsinki Commission is a very well-respected organization that has a mandate from the United States Congress to monitor human rights around the world, including media freedom. They have been clear, as have many others, including our Embassy, on concerns about Mr. Gvaramia’s case, including the original charges, the timing of the charges, and then subsequently the conviction and decision. This is a letter from an organization that has been a friend of Georgia’s for a very long time, a strong supporter of Georgia in its democratic development and its progress toward European integration. Any decision regarding pardoning is solely up to President Zourabichvili, and I’m sure she takes all of the requests—such as those from the Helsinki Commission—into consideration in making her decisions. 

  Source: https://ge.usembassy.gov/ambassador-degnans-remarks-to-media-at-skills-week/

• US Embassy:The creation of scapegoats and fighting them in order to maintain power is a repeating strategy of dictators

  The creation of scapegoats and fighting them in order to maintain power is a repeating strategy of dictators, reads the statement released by the US Embassy in Georgia.

  According to the statement, dictators are also known for repeating each other's mistakes. Putin tells his people that the entire civilized world is their enemy and that only he stands on the path to truth. Putin’s enemies are pregnant women, whom he bombs inside maternity wards, small children and elderly people who sing to each other in shelters to find comfort, and people who choose freedom.

  One year ago Putin was certain that Kyiv would fall in a day, that Ukrainian people would greet his army with flowers, and that the west would turn a blind eye. But Kyiv stands, Ukrainian people are fighting with unprecedented courage, and the West has never been so united.

  Dictators like Putin repeat each other’s mistakes because they forget the eternal verity which was brilliantly formulated by Rustaveli centuries ago: "Evil is vanquished by good, for the essence of good is enduring", reads the statement.
• At least one person was killed in an attack using an automatic weapon on Azerbaijan's Embassy in Iran’s capital Tehran

  At least one person was killed in an attack using an automatic weapon on Azerbaijan's Embassy in Iran’s capital Tehran, officials said early Friday.

  "The attacker destroyed the guard post with a Kalashnikov automatic weapon and killed the head of the security service. Two security guards of the embassy were also injured while preventing the attack. Their condition is satisfactory," said the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in a statement.

  The suspect in the attack was detained, according to Azerbaijani state media reports.

  An investigation is currently underway into the "treacherous attack," said the ministry.

  The ministry said that additional information will be provided to the public on details of the case.

  Iran and Azerbaijan share a border, and Iran has a large ethnic Azerbaijani population. 
• Euroclub in Kvareli to become regional hub for learning and development in Kakheti

  On 16 December, the Euroclub in Kvareli, Georgia, opened its new space with the support of the European Union and the US Embassy. 

  The EuroClub, a youth organisation founded in Kvareli in 2019 with the support of the European Union’s Regional Communication Programme ‘EU NEIGHBOURS east’, will now become a regional hub for education and development, not only in Kvareli municipality, but also in the Kakheti region. Since 2021, the EuroClub Kvareli unites the EuroClub and American Shelf in one space.

  The main mission of EuroClub Kvareli is to promote education and development, raise civic awareness, provide access to non-formal education and spread Western values. The aim of the organisation is to bring the local community together and provide it with a space for open discussions, workshops, film screenings, and seminars.

  Over the past three years, EuroClub Kvareli operations have reached more than 2,500 beneficiaries through 150+ activities as part of 25+ projects. These include the Citizen empowerment programme in Kvareli municipality, Activism film club, Open libraries, Book club, and European values and democracy campaign for European Days (EU4U).

• Ambassador Degnan’s Remarks to Media at the Women in Comprehensive Defense Conference

  Question about the event 

  Ambassador Degnan: This conference is an important opportunity to bring together international and Georgian experts to talk about NATO’s comprehensive defense concept and Georgia’s approach to implementing that concept. Women play a central role in the comprehensive defense concept, and we will be discussing that more in the course of today’s conference. There are many examples in Georgia’s history when women have demonstrated the important role that they play in supporting the defense of their country.

  That goes all the way back to King Tamar and many battles throughout this country where women have been essential in supporting the defense effort. This is just a modern version of that to ensure that the whole of society is prepared, whether it’s for a natural disaster like a flood or an earthquake or some kind of attack or malicious event. So there are many different aspects to NATO’s comprehensive defense concept, and we’ll be exploring those today.

  Question about the European Parliament resolution 

  Ambassador Degnan: The United States is not part of the European Parliament. I can say that we weren’t involved in drafting this resolution. I can say that we also regret the continuing polarization of the political environment here in Georgia, and we would certainly agree with the call for the political stakeholders here to come together and implement ambitious democratic judicial and anti-corruption reforms. This is work that is underway, and it needs to be done in an inclusive fashion. I think Georgia has a very good track record of submitting draft legislation like this to the Venice Commission and other European expert bodies for their feedback on whether it does indeed meet European Union standards. At a time when the next very important step on Georgia’s path to its European future is at hand, candidate status, it seems particularly important and worthwhile to submit draft legislation to the Venice Commission to get their assessment of whether the legislation that’s been prepared is compatible and meets European standards. The United States will continue, as we have for the past 30 years, to support the clear will of the Georgian people to live in a secure, stable, prosperous democracy. That is why we are such strong supporters of the people of Georgia’s aspiration for European Union membership and a Euro-Atlantic future. I would hope that all of Georgia’s political leaders, including the ruling party and the opposition, would come together now and make sure that the work that is being done for candidate status is going to meet European Union standards. This is the moment, and I sincerely hope that Georgia’s leaders will accomplish this goal for the people of Georgia.

  Question about a news report on European Business Association 

  Ambassador Degnan: I don’t know Mr. Lee, and I’m not familiar with the European Business Association, so I really don’t have a comment on this.

  By U.S. Embassy Tbilisi