Georgia Reacts to Former Senator Lugar's Death

Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze expressed sorrow over the death of former Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, who passed away on April 28 at the age of 87.

Bakhtadze took to Twitter to emphasize that Lugar was a great friend of Georgia and a great statesman.

“World has lost a great statesman, who was instrumental in American foreign policy for decades. Sen. Richard Lugar was a great friend of Georgia and will always stay in our memories as a person who has made a world a better place. Georgia is forever grateful,” PM’s tweet reads.

There is a Richard Lugar Public Health Research Center in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, a facility of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) of Georgia, which became operational in August 2013. 

The Lugar Center is a top-tiered institution in NCDC’s laboratory network and serves as a reference laboratory of Georgia’s public health system. 

The project started in 2004, after the USA – Georgia Umbrella Agreement was signed in 1997 and the USA – Georgia Implementing Agreement signed in 2002 about “Cooperation in the Area of Prevention of Proliferation of Technology, Pathogens and Expertise Related to the Development of Biological Weapons.” 

By Thea Morrison