Kobakhidze: Georgia raised all key national issues at UN, including occupation of its historical regions

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said his address to the United Nations General Assembly covered all major issues of national importance, including the occupation of Georgia’s historical regions, which he described as one of the country’s most pressing national challenges.

Speaking to Georgian journalists in the United States, Kobakhidze said his visit to the UN included a series of bilateral meetings and two roundtable discussions, where peace was a central theme.

“Our visit to the United Nations is coming to an end, and it has been a productive one. The highlight was, of course, my address to the UN General Assembly, where we delivered our key messages and addressed all major national issues of importance to our country, including one of our most pressing national challenges — the occupation of our historical regions.

“We also discussed the country’s development, including economic development, and addressed all issues related to our national interests and national agenda,” Kobakhidze said.

The prime minister said the visit had included several high-level meetings, as well as two roundtable discussions focused on peace as an essential prerequisite for development.

“The visit went well overall. We held a number of meetings, and I also had the opportunity to speak at two additional roundtables. In both cases, the central theme was peace, which is an essential prerequisite for development,” he said.

Kobakhidze said he had held bilateral meetings with the UN Secretary-General, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and Switzerland’s Vice President and Foreign Minister, who also serves as the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

He also met with the presidents of Türkiye and Serbia, as well as the prime minister of Armenia.

The prime minister highlighted the signing of a protocol establishing diplomatic relations between Georgia and Nauru, following Nauru’s withdrawal of its recognition of Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“Importantly, we signed a protocol establishing diplomatic relations with Nauru. We thanked the President of Nauru for withdrawing the so-called recognition of Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia.

“The establishment of diplomatic relations is a direct result of that decision and represents a major diplomatic achievement for Georgia. I would like to once again thank our entire diplomatic corps for their efforts,” Kobakhidze said.

He concluded that the visit had achieved its principal objective of representing Georgia’s national interests on the international stage.

“Overall, the visit was successful. Our main objective was to ensure that our national interests were properly represented,” Kobakhidze said.