Georgian Dream’s Gia Volski Says Attacks on Major Investment Project Amount to Attacks on Georgia

Gia Volski, First Deputy Speaker of Georgia’s Parliament and a senior member of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Sunday that political attacks on a major foreign investment project should be regarded as attacks on the country itself.

Volski was responding to a demonstration at Freedom Square in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, where protesters gathered to oppose large-scale development projects they describe as the construction of “Arab cities” in Georgia.

The controversy centres on investment plans by UAE-based property developer Eagle Hills, which has announced multibillion-dollar real estate projects in Tbilisi and the Black Sea coastal region of Adjara.

“A political attack on a major investment that is shaping Georgia’s future, creating jobs and requiring the training of highly qualified specialists, from construction professionals to managers, must, of course, be regarded as an attack on the country itself,” Volski said.

The senior Georgian Dream lawmaker dismissed concerns about what some opponents have described as the “Arabisation” of Georgia, saying claims that the investment posed a threat to the country were unfounded.

“Some have even raised the issue of mosques, inventing a supposed threat that has no basis in reality. The Prime Minister has addressed this matter extensively, explaining the safeguards provided by both the legal framework and the terms of the business and economic agreement. Specific responses have been provided to every potential concern,” Volski said.

He accused political groups associated with the opposition United National Movement, as well as a movement presenting itself as conservative, of pursuing parallel campaigns against the investment project.

“What we are seeing is an attack by a certain group that could be described as the collective United National Movement, reinforced by another attack from a movement that claims to be conservative in its approach towards Georgia,” he said.

Volski stressed that attracting additional investment and resources was essential to Georgia’s economic development and national security.

“More investment and greater resources are fundamental to Georgia’s security and its future. Without them, the country will neither be able to develop nor survive in the extremely difficult global environment we are unfortunately facing,” he said.