Georgia: challenges and opportunities: George Dolidze outlines the situation facing and aspirations of a small state on the edge of Europe.

• Author: Dolidze, George

It is my privilege to address distinguished subscribers of the NZIR as an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Georgia to New Zealand. It is with pride that I would like to introduce some aspects related to my country to the interested people in New Zealand or elsewhere.

I should start by saying that Georgia considers New Zealand as one of its most important partners in the Pacific region. The two countries, which share most fundamental values of freedom and democracy, have a similar stance on various issues on the international agenda and fruitfully cooperate in different international formats. New Zealand's firm and longstanding support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the policy of non-recognition of the occupied territories of Georgia, is extremely important and highly valued. Georgia is highly motivated to expand co-operation with New Zealand on its road to further economic and democratic development and there certainly are some promising opportunities to do so. After all, we have some very specific cultural commonalities, and wine as well as an obsession with rugby are definitely not the least important among them.

Georgia is a rather small country situated on the edge of Europe, which is now best known for being one of the most attractive travel destinations in the world, for its variety of wines and proven 8000-years-old continuous viticulture, savoury cuisine, rich material and intangible cultural heritage and much more, as well as one of the most modern, rapidly and dynamically developing countries of the region.

Let me begin with a brief historical overview, since there can be no understanding of the present without at least a superficial idea of what preceded it. Georgia's statehood (under different names, such as the Kingdom of Colchis or Iberia) counts thousands of years. With its specific location, on the cross-roads of Europe and Asia, providing a strategic connection between the East and the West and the North and the South, it has been a place of active, often not so peaceful rivalry among the dominant regional or world powers throughout most of its long history. After centuries of relatively successful struggle in preserving its independence from all sorts of invaders, in 1801 the major part of the country was annexed and transformed into a province of czarist Russia. I will omit the 19th century with all its invasions, annexations, wars, oppressions, policy of russification and resistance of the Georgian people, and will move directly to 26 May 1918, when, as a result of the Great War and following the collapse of the Russian Empire, Georgia regained its statehood. On this day the National Assembly of Georgia proclaimed the restoration of the country's independence and foundation of the Democratic Republic. The founders, who were statesmen and women representing different political parties and movements, intended to create a state based on the principles of freedom, equality, pluralism and justice. There is no doubt they succeeded in doing so. The most progressive ideas were laid into the foundations of the Republic, including a freely elected parliament and other democratic institutions, gender equality, respect for the rights of minorities and a peaceful foreign policy.

Soviet invasion

Unfortunately, that time of freedom and democracy did not last long. In February 1921 the Soviets invaded the Democratic Republic of Georgia. A brief but fierce war claimed the lives of many Georgian patriots. The people of Georgia never lost hope for a better future and freedom for their country and never fully came to terms with the totalitarian regime. In 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed and we finally restored our independence after a number of uprisings, repressions, oppressions and liberation movements. Regrettably, up till now, 30 years after regaining...