Foreign Ministers on the 2016 Wardrop Dialogue

TBILISI - The British Embassy hosted a business reception Thursday to welcome British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Alan James Carter Duncan, who had come to Georgia to participate in the third annual Wardrop Dialogue, the first to be held in Tbilisi. Also present during the talks were British Ambassador to Georgia, Jeremy McKenzie Smith, Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikheil Janelidze, and Ambassador of Georgia to the UK, Tamara Beruchashvili.

Duncan, who earlier in the day announced a £4.5 mln investment in Georgia from the UK’s Good Governance Fund, was emphatic in his message that “the UK may leave the EU but it is not leaving the world.”

It was Duncan’s first personal visit to Georgia and he claimed he was very much impressed not just by the well-organized Dialogue, but also by the access he was given to the President, Prime Minister and other important officials during a “meticulously arranged program” which additionally saw a visit to the BP pipeline and the Occupation Line of South Ossetia.

According to both Duncan and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikheil Janelidze, the Wardrop Dialogue 2016 saw a step up in the strategic partnership between the UK and Georgia regarding mutual interests related to security, prosperity and the development of democratic principles.

“During the Dialogue we talked about new opportunities not only in the energy sector but in business- Georgia has one of the most transparent and easy business environments and is corruption-free,” Minister Janelidze said. “We have a lot to offer British businesses. We are investing not only in foreign policies but also relevant infrastructure to connect the EU with Asia- making us a relevant bridge and hub for EU businesses within the region and further east, and vice versa. Through the Dialogues both parties agreed that our trade ties will remain strong on the government level to ensure all opportunities for the UK and Georgia.”

More on the Wardrop Dialogues in Tuesday’s GT Business.

By Katie Ruth Davies