ZOURABICHVILI CALLS FOR GEORGIA TO BE “REGIONAL LEADER”

The Messenger, Georgia
Sept 6 2005

The gathering of representatives of Georgia’s diplomatic corps in
Batumi on September 2-3 was the largest such meeting in the last
9 years. Minister of Foreign Affairs Salome Zourabichvili said the
agenda covered the most important issues for the country’s foreign
policy: European and NATO integration and the necessity of attracting
European investment into the country. However, rousing the most media
interest at the meeting was Zourabichvili’s statement that Georgia
should strive to achieve the position of “regional leader.”

At the conference in Batumi, which brought together Georgian diplomats
accredited in 29 countries, Zourabichvili mentioned that Georgia should
try to gain the position of leader in the South Caucasus. “Being
a leader in the region is the most important issue for us. We need
this in order to be at the top of new movements and directions of
development,” she said, as quoted by the newspaper Akhali Taoba.

Observers think that the fact that such a statement was made by one
of the country’s top leaders is significant in itself, though as
Rezonansi reports, some state that the Minister of Foreign Affairs
should not make such bold pronouncements and that doing so is the
job of only the president or at least the prime minister.

It is clear that the proclamation about regional leadership does
not extend past the South Caucasus, because Georgia’s more distant
regional neighbors include countries such as Turkey, Iran and
Ukraine, to say nothing of Russia. It is fair to question, however,
Georgia’s capabilities to lead even within the small South Caucasus
region. Economics is the most basic precondition for any talk about
leadership. Is Georgia strong enough economically to even think of
being a regional leader?

In 2006 Azerbaijan will receive USD 5 billion in revenues from the
BTC oil pipeline alone. Also, Azerbaijan is twice as big as Georgia
in terms of population. Armenia has a vast and wealthy Diaspora
abroad. Moreover, Georgia is dependent not only on Azerbaijan
for energy resources, but also on Armenia, from which it receives
electricity in winter. In addition, the income per capita is greater
in both Azerbaijan and Armenia, though Georgia could theoretically
make use of the advantages it has given its geopolitical situation
and gain the upper hand, reports Rezonansi.

Others believe the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ statement about
regional leadership refers mainly to democratic reform. Namely,
that Georgia will try to pass reforms earlier than its neighbors. In
addition, Georgia should become a leader in European and Euro-Atlantic
integration issues. “Perhaps those countries supporting Georgia in
its integration into NATO and EU will give the country the role
of regional leader,” one anonymous expert is quoted as saying in
Rezonansi. One international figure encouraging Georgia to take such
a role is the president of PACE Rene van der Linden, who during an
August visit to Tbilisi called on Georgia to take a lead role in the
peaceful resolution of regional conflicts. “Georgia must become an
example for the whole region,” Linden said.

Georgia-Russian relations were another of the major issues on the table
at the Batumi meeting. Minister Zourabichvili stated that normalizing
relations with Russia is a pertinent issue for the foreign policy of
Georgia. The government has taken a lot of important steps to this end,
though according to Zourabichvili, they are not enough. “We are glad
that Russian military bases are leaving Georgia. But we are quite
far from normalizing our relations once and for all. We should all
take effective steps in this area,” said Zourabichvili.

The ministry named the attraction of investments as one of the top
priorities of Georgian ambassadors. “You are not only political,
but also economic ambassadors. We need a strong economy to have
a successful foreign policy. We want a strong economy. Thus the
most important objective of your activities should be attracting
investments,” said Salome Zourabichvili. The ambassadors are now tasked
with disseminating information about Georgia’s economic development
and the privatization processes underway in the country.

The 24 Ambassadors present at the meeting – Ambassadors to the United
States Levan Mikeladze, Russia Irakli Chubinashvili, as well as the
ambassador to Poland were unable to attend – have received their new
agenda for the next year. But for the most ambitious tasks ahead –
attracting foreign investments, promoting Georgia as a regional leader,
and normalizing relations with Russia – they must rely heavily on
officials in Tbilisi to do their job first of all.