SOCIAL MEDIA

30 APRIL - 6 MAY 2018 ISSUE N: 69 30.04-06.05, NATO- Public Diplomacy Forum • In the framework of the NATO days, NATO-Georgia Public Diplomacy Forum was held in Georgia for the third time. President , Prime Minister , VPM Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikheil Janelidze, Speaker of the Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs DR. A. Wess Mitchell, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Ambassador Tacan Ildem and other high level officials addressed the forum. • Topics: NATO-Georgia partnership, public diplomacy in the information age, NATO’s communication strategy, hybrid warfare against western values, the era of post-truth and fake news, building resilience through public diplomacy. “Through its partnership with NATO, Georgia has the tools to improve its defense capacity, its institutions, and its interoperability with the Alliance. The stronger you are, the stronger the West is” - Wess Mitchell said. “Over the past few years, Georgia has repeatedly identified itself as a valuable and reliable partner of the Alliance on its NATO integration path…The Alliance views Georgia as an exemplary country sharing the same democratic values as NATO” – highlighted Mikheil Janelidze. MORE: 27th Anniversary of Georgia’s Armed Forces 30.04.2018, TBILISI Georgia marks the 27th Anniversary of creation of the Georgian Armed Forces. President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Speaker of the Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze and Defence Minister Levan Izoria congratulated Georgian Armed Forces on anniversary and thanked them for their servise. “Thank you for the bravery that you have been exhibiting in international missions for years” - noted President. “I would like to thank everyone, each and every service member of Georgia's Armed Forces for duly protecting our country's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.” - Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said. MORE: The Council of Europe has Adopted a Decision on the Georgia-Russia Conflict 02.05.2018, STRASBOURG • The Committee of Ministers' Deputies of the Council of Europe at its 1315th session adopted yet another decision on the agenda item -“Council of Europe and the Conflict in Georgia”, in which the CoE Member States reaffirm strong support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity holding Russia legally accountable for exercising actual control on Georgia’s occupied territories. • This decision is an important step forward in terms of international assessment of the situation in Georgia’s occupied territories. The decision clearly outlines that Georgia is prevented from exercising legitimate jurisdiction over its regions due to the Russian Federation’s continuing military presence there. MORE: Free Trade Agreement between Georgia and EFTA Fully Entered into Force 01.05.2018 • The Free Trade Agreement between Georgia and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) fully entered into force from 1 May 2018. The Agreement signed on 27 June 2016 came into force for Georgia, Norway and Iceland from 1 September 2017, and for Switzerland and Liechtenstein – from 1 May 2018. • Agreement covers: Trade in goods and in services, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, intellectual property rights, public procurement, competition, trade remedies and sustainable development. • The Agreement grants Georgian enterprises a tariff-barrier-free access to the 14-million market. MORE: Germany Allocates Funds for Sustainable Development in Georgia 30.04.2018, TBILISI • Germany is offering €252,7 million to Georgia for sustainable development. Georgia’s Finance Minister and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Georgia Heike FOLLOW US ON: Peitsch signed the financial agreement. • The money will be spent on various projects, including vocational education, improving utility infrastructure in different /mfageorgia/ regions of Georgia and expanding the power transmission network. MORE: /MFAgovge Ireland has Added Georgia to the List of Safe Countries /janelidzeMkh

30.04.2018, DUBLIN /MFAGEO

Decision was made by the Ministry of Justice of Ireland. Georgia was put into the category of safe DEVELOPED BY: countries along with other East European countries. Ireland is the 9th country in the EU/Schengen Strategic Communications Department after Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Bulgaria, Austria, Liechtenstein and Iceland, MFA of Georgia which recognized Georgia as a safe country MORE: [email protected]