Skopje, 4 October 2023 (MIA) – North Macedonia and Georgia have a lot of things in common, they share similar priorities and views. You are already a NATO member state, and an EU candidate member. Georgia expects to receive its EU candidate status soon, and your experience in getting closer to the European institutions is very important for us, said the new Ambassador of Georgia to North Macedonia, Otar Berdzenishvili, at a meeting with journalists.

Recently Ambassador Berdzenishvili presented his credentials to the President of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, thereby officially kicking off his diplomatic mission, while his visit to Skopje also represented an opportunity for meetings with officials during which, said the Ambassador, opinions were exchanged over the shared values, bilateral relations, and their strategic aspirations for EU and NATO membership.

Touching upon the political relations in the past three years, the Ambassador highlighted the Georgian President’s visit to North Macedonia in 2021, as the first visit of a high Georgian representative to the country, which was then followed by a visa liberalization between the two countries. At the meeting, the Ambassador touched upon the opportunities for the exchange of experiences between the two countries regarding reforms on the path to the EU.

“You are already a NATO member state, and an EU candidate member. Georgia expects to get an EU candidate status very soon, and your experience in getting closer to the European institutions is very important for us. And that’s why we are here, and we’re strengthening our presence in the Western Balkans because we believe this is of special importance for us. On the other hand, you have no presence in the South Caucasus region. We don’t know each other, but if we turn to history and delve deeper we will find that there are many similarities between our nations, regarding the protection of identity, language, ethnic belonging,” said the Georgian Ambassador.

The Ambassador said both countries are fairly young and experiencing very difficult processes, which, he said, “unfortunately are often led by the great powers around us.”

“As UN members, we, the smaller countries, can come together and speak with a single voice and defend ourselves, and this is one of the reasons why we should build bridges with each other,” underlined Berdzenishvili.

Berdzenishvili said Georgia wants to cooperate with the Western Balkan countries, which is why they are interested in a “Georgia plus Western Balkans” cooperation format, for which they’ve already launched an initiatives and meetings are set to be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers.

“We are small countries, and we need to build bridges between our societies. Our priorities are to first promote the links between our people, this includes academic cooperation, cooperation in the IT sector, business opportunities, trade cooperation without double taxation,” said the Georgian diplomat.

Ambassador Berdzenishvili admitted that the two countries know very little about each other.

“In the past three years of diplomatic relations, a very good foundation for the development of relations has been created, while through the work of the two honorary consuls of Georgia in North Macedonia, we have a chance to see, to understand the vision of your culture, history, art, and to convey it to Georgia, which represents a bridge that brings the two countries together,” underlined the Georgian Ambassador.

With a population of 3.6 million, Georgia has a GDP per capita of USD 5000. It is mainly an agricultural country. Georgia exports 100 million bottles of wine annually, most of which are sold on the Asian market, the country also exports wine to EU, US, and Russia.

Due to the war in Ukraine, with its geostrategic position, Georgia has become a part of the alternative route of the trade between Asia and Europe. The route, also known as the Middle Corridor, bypasses Russia and provides an easier access to the markets of the EU and the Western Balkans.

According to the Ambassador, tourism is one of the driving forces of the Georgian economy, and also a domain with potential for cooperation between the two countries.

Currently, there are no direct flights between Skopje and Tbilisi, but according to Ambassador Berdzenishvili, the business relations will create the need for their introduction.

Photo: MIA/Office of the President of North Macedonia