“There are challenges that exist with this geopolitical environment where Georgia is, and then opportunities that are offered also with this geopolitical location,” said Maka Botchorishvili, Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs in New Delhi, India, addressing the panel discussion held within the framework of the international conference 2025 Raisina Dialogue, The Caspian Post reports citing local media.
“It’s a great honour to be here among these distinguished guests and have this opportunity to talk about very important issues. Indeed, Georgia, maybe a very small country to dictate geopolitics, but it is very much the place where geopolitics meet. And together with that, of course, opportunities come in your direction and you have to be smart enough to use that opportunities that come together with this. First, probably, I have to say that there are challenges that exist with this geopolitical environment where Georgia is, and then opportunities that are offered also with this geopolitical location" said the minister.
"For centuries, Georgia has been connecting East and West, an important country, starting from the Silk Road, contributing to East-West connectivity. From the very early days of our independence from the Soviet Union, Georgia started to think about how we could play that role again in the modern world. A number of very important projects have been implemented together with our neighbours, together with Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and of course with the support of our strategic partners. That is important to mention. These projects are still, after decades, very important in the sense that they have the potential to contribute to wider European security, connectivity when it comes to energy connections, when it comes to connectivity in terms of transport and so on and so forth, but the potential is huge. I have been travelling in Central Asian countries recently. I visited Kazakhstan, visited Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and this cooperation with neighbouring countries - Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Armenia - are important partners for us. What is also very important is Black Sea connectivity", she stressed.
"A longstanding intention of Georgia was to turn the Black Sea into a connecting sea with the European Union rather than a dividing sea. We have these opportunities now and we have to work and we have to invest in that because together we can do very serious projects that will benefit the European Union and Europe. We consider ourselves as part of Europe, and European security concerns us as well, and that will be beneficial for the wider European region. When it comes to the potential that exists to our east, it’s huge - huge opportunities that come together with the Middle Corridor and the development of the Middle Corridor. That is definitely our intention to invest in infrastructure projects and to use with full capacity whatever these opportunities can bring to Georgia. Caspian Sea, Black Sea, energy connectivity, transport connectivity - plenty of projects that can be or are being implemented already via Georgia. That will be beneficial for the smaller region.
But something very important needs to be mentioned: peace, which is essential, peace and security. I’m talking about the small region of South Caucasus, which is very vibrant. We are supporting and encouraging our neighbours, Armenia and Azerbaijan. We are very happy that they announced that they found a solution to push a peace deal, and that’s very important for our region. But Georgia still has two regions occupied by Russia, and that still remains a very serious threat to the security of our region. For me, as a Georgian diplomat for a long time, it was always very difficult to explain on one side the security threats that come from Russian occupation, and on the other hand how to explain the huge opportunities that exist there. It was a very difficult task, and it is still very difficult because occupation remains, security threats remain. But we have to respond somehow to the opportunities. This response is definitely economic development and reforms.
If you look at the global rankings, you will find Georgia in the top countries when it comes to doing business when it comes to open governments, and when it comes to the corruption index. These leading positions are the result of the right policies that the government has implemented, especially in the last 10 years. And that is the result of how we are countering the security challenges that we have in the region,” said the minister.
