 Thank you. Thank you so very much and Thank you everybody for showing interest in in our country and in our Legion and first time in Ireland. They came here to To get your knowledge and your experience on conflict resolution I am personally in charge of Geneva international discussions was which is the only forum Georgia has was Russia where we where we are discussing issues of aftermath of 2000 2008 war and the successful examples of conflict resolution Unfortunately are not much and you are you are the one who can share with us your best practices and your your experience the topic of of today's Discussion is the challenges and priorities of Georgia's foreign policy To make a short a long story short I would tell you that our foreign policy Priority is to build the European democracy in the heart of Caucasus in a territory that lays between between Black Sea and Caspian And is in the middle of Eurasian continent and thus creates a crossroad to connect south to north to south and West to east we are for 25 years and this year we will celebrate 25 years of restoration of our Independence we're trying to build the European democracy and find our our proper place in in Europe Free and I hope that will remain all in the future as well so this Priority was not brought by This or previous political The government or some small group of politicians. It's a truly new choice of people of Georgia And that's something that Differs us from other countries in our neighborhood when soviet union broke up We never debated which way to go north south east to west so it only was an obvious route that started in Tbilisi and Sooner we hope so rather sooner than later will end up in Brussels and I don't see think that Any democratically elected government in Georgia will tear to destruct from this from this Brussels root and the public and what differs us is that Our European agenda he has a wide public support at all time We are regularly conducting public opinion surveys and recent polls Showed that more than 70% are in favor of our integration Actually more than 80 are in favor of NATO integration and more than 70 are in favor of our integration with the European Union Here here I will try to preempt one of your questions that will definitely ask between Because every time I'm saying that people of Georgia are looking for integration with the UI because more and more people are Are showing Frustration in the EU and even in new countries its support is shrinking why we are so anxious to To join to join the club first of all at this stage at this stage. We don't consider you as a Institution as a institution, but rather a set of values a way of life a way of Building building the country. We save the share values same culture same Same same same aspirations and our working document We call it association agenda with the European Union is a Is a copy paste of our domestic reform agenda and whatever we are doing Incorporation with European Union and the same applies to our working document with NATO We are doing it not to please someone in Dublin or in Brussels or in Washington We are doing it to please our own people to build a Democratic country to develop a diverse market market economy to attract foreign investors come to Georgia and start business and more and more people are coming now and to guarantee to observe human rights of our Citizens and to guarantee their security their Prosperity and guarantee territorial territorial integrity of our country To do to attract Europe for Georgia is a which is a small dot on a world map It will be very difficult But what we can offer to Europe is a safe corridor for transporting hydrocarbons from rich Caspian and Central Asian fields to Europe and the rest of the world to create a safe corridor for transporting other Goods and commodities exchange of goods between West and East and the safe Create a safe corridor and the safe barrier to prevent Europe for from challenges emanated from Middle East and from from Afghanistan and from volatile Asian Asian Asian regions That's why it is in Our best interest to have a South Caucasus peaceful and stable and economically Developed There are problems. There are challenges. There is conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh Which was Effectively freezed for more than 20 years, but now melted and showed the science of dangerous eruption Our territories are still occupied by Russia we have not quite pleasant relations with this Country Armenia and Azerbaijan are it thoughts But despite this we managed to develop very effective Trilateral cooperation between Turkey Georgia and other and Azerbaijan in order to insure insure This safe corridor of for transporting a wide variety of goods commodities and exchange of exchange of information when Civil War, sorry Cold War ended Everybody hopes that Black Sea will transform for a dividing Sea between Warsaw Pact and NATO in to see of cooperation and one Eastern European countries our Black Sea neighbors Bulgaria Romania and others Fulfilled their immediate tasks and became full-fledged members of NATO and EU they started to pay more attention to to Black Sea security Black Sea security cooperation a lot of initiatives were introduced primarily by our Romanian Romanian colleagues, but as we observe now Not they are not working Working properly. There are a lot of ideas. There were a lot of State and non-state actors they showing interest in our in our region many international organizations But all this Create even more more just overcrowding and as a sense of sense of instability and what if we Look into history the 21st century started exactly like the previous one in 1914. There was a big war Previous century started a big war in 1914 and this century started was war in Ukraine again in 2014 as though it was preceded by conflict in a by war by by war in by war in Georgia but this and the primary objective now is to To develop the common approach to our region to the Black Sea Caucasus Central Asia from the side of Europe from the side of European Union and from the side of United United States and find and Join forces in order to ensure stability and security in our region now as of our immediate priorities my our country's immediate priorities it is Integrate Integration with the European Union, but when I'm speaking about the integration, please don't worry. I don't have in mind immediate Immediate membership. We know it's not feasible in an affordable future We are quite pragmatic and sober-minded, but we have a very extensive Extensive agenda association agenda last two years ago. We signed the association agreement, which is a 1,000 seek Document about the political approximation of our country was the European Union and it had it's it has its integral attachment deep and comprehensive free trade area, which is We are already implementing Most of its close and quite soon it will enter into full force and we will start it full full implementation, but Already with its partial implementation our Trade with Europe has increased by 15 percent, but it will take time it will take time because the results of the CFTA It are not that will be visible and Tangible immediately it needs time it needs time for our small small and medium businesses to Family arise with this a new opportunity new opportunities. That's why our government is offering this 8th educational programs for people especially living in a rural areas and for small businesses how to use as benefits of of free trade with Europe Besides the free trade with Europe. We have the same arrangement was a turkey and other Big consumer market. We are having say free trade arrangement with our Neighbors from former Soviet Union our main trade partners other by John Kazakhstan and Belarus although Last two are already in a Russian led customs Union But they what once they were assigning with this accession document they stipulated that they will Retain with Georgia the Free trade free trade regime which because it is in their interest as well by the end of this year We will finalize our free trade talks with China and other huge market will be open for for us all these all this Creates a favorable atmosphere for foreign investors to come and set businesses and produce Boots that will be labeled the made in Georgia and will have free access without any barriers and taxation to this huge kind of huge consumer market Plus to this our reforms in last decade and recently Are primarily aimed besides building building Democracy and observing human rights are aimed to create favorable atmosphere for entrepreneurs for making Business for starting a business our taxation system is quite Flexible and unified and we went even farther now we borrowed Estonian example on a corporate tax Law and where we have abolished Profit profit tax, so if someone Returns money or invest money in a business it will not be taxated only dividends will be taxated it will cause some budget cuts incoming two three years, but after that it will Bring another additional Income into into into our budget. So Georgia is quite attractive country for foreign investors and more and more FDI is Is coming to is coming to our country now another immediate priority with the European Union is to finalize Already finalized the formal negotiations on visa liberalization and now it's up to the European Parliament and the Council To agree to give a final green light and by our most optimistic prognosis already from This summer we our citizens might enjoy free travel in Shangri-Zong sorry, not in Ireland, but in I was I was Ireland we are working bilaterally to to to is a exchange of A big change of people between our two countries, which will bring you a more closer Georgia and and the islands of our it's not so far its Iraq visit unites us and But we hope to find some other avenues for future for future Cooperation on the side of NATO we have a quite in a quite a substantial Package that is our master master plan for cooperation with NATO and the core of this package is to You to further increase our defense capabilities and make our country more resilient to modern challenges NATO doors opened for us in 2008 when in Bucharest the NATO pledge to that Georgia will become member of the alliance now we are Discussing how and when it will happen again. I have no illusion whatsoever that it's a It will happen in a nearest future But we are doing our best in order to be a fit and mature when time will be will the political landscape in Europe will change in favor of our our Invitation but besides this we are acting in many ways like Members and in most cases even better than some members. We are one of the more active True contributors to NATO operations in the previous Afghan operation, which was ISAF We were second largest per capita contributor to ISAF operation by two thousand troops deployed in Afghanistan now in the recent Resolute support mission We are second after the United States sexual troop contributor around the one thousand Soldiers are deployed in different regions Without any national caveats, which means that they can be used in any risky operations that Might take place They might take place there and we pledged that beyond 2016 if needed we will Keep our troops there. We are also contributing to you led the crisis management operations in Central Africa and in and in Mali and and also we are a part of NATO Response Force for last year and and and this year which means that we may participate in article 5 operations as well so All these are our immediate Agendas with these two institutions and as I said it enjoys high public support, but It cannot be taken for granted. This support needs some sort of Fertilization some sort of encouragement Especially now especially now when Certain forces are trying to distract us from our European past And they are quite effectively using this propaganda machine which works not only in our country but in Europe in and elsewhere in the world and what they are attacking what they are attacking is not NATO and you per se because These are so trusted organizations that nothing can challenge their reputation, but what they are attacking is the perspective that Yes, NATO is good, but they are not Ready to give you even the membership action plan not to speak about the invitation You is good, but you is fed up with its own problems And it's showing no interest in our country and in our region. So we are wasting time We are wasting energy. So let's abandon it. Let's forget it and let's try to mend relations with Russia Mandatory relations with Russia is another priority for our government and this government did Everything what was practicable in Current situation mean I mean in the absence of diplomatic relations in the presence of Russian troops on Georgian soil in the presence of three Russian embassies In Georgia actually one is closed in to be listen, but two are opened in a in a regions in Tskhinvali and In Sokhumi, but despite this despite it We tried our best and trying our best to put into a civilized format our relations Actually, it was a former president that they've the unilaterally visa for Russian citizens and a lot of Russian tourists are Cruising around the country all year All year round, which is good We never made any problems from Russian business for Russian businesses to operate in the Georgia Although there was a total ban of any kind of Contact with Georgia starting even before work from 2006 This guard the new government that was elected four years ago appointed special rep on talks with Russia and thanks to their efforts We managed tourists to restore business relations trade relations Cooperate in the field of a Culture humanitarian Issues there are more and more people to people contacts cultural exchanges, but unfortunately all this Was not translated on a political and security side Russia still continues occupation of Still continues Occupation of our territories and I wish it was all in only occupation, but now What they are doing they are trying to Smartly and smoothly absorb Abkhazia and South Ossetia into Russia's jurisdiction what I mean absorb They don't need to use openly force like they did it in Crimea There they use these troops once in 2008. They are still there and showing no signs of withdrawal On the very contrary. They are constantly upgrading it with new state to the art Armament and not only defensive but very much offensive. They are keeping 10,000 troops Both in a positive and South Ossetia and the composition of the troops and the company the numbers of hardware Definitely indicates that all this is not to intimidate Tbilisi it's to create military superiority in a larger in a in a larger region now They are tabling and the mere presence of Their troops is enough to pose the threat to local de facto administration and they are tabling Different documents treaties agreements and by doing so they are trying to create the common Economic defense security social cultural space to fully harmonize local legislation with Russian one and if Nothing is done in three years time From a legalistic point of view we will have exactly the same outcomes that we have in Crimea and our work Our case is even more dangerous that the Ukrainian one was because Ukrainian one was visible It was live broadcasted what was happening in Crimea, but in our case no one is Assigning document is not a issue for Breaking news and it develops without visible symptoms But when this illness is found out it is already terminal. It's too late to do something. That's why it is enormously difficult for us to raise awareness and alarm of international organizations and our and our partners, but still still we don't see any other way but to To continue our our dialogue with Russia There is no alternative to dialogue and we want to build as pragmatic as possible relations, but our pragmatism of course will not cross our Red line, which is our national interest and which is our territory territorial integrity and the choice of Georgian Georgian people