French Ambassador: We Stand Beside Georgia

On October 27, the French Embassy in Georgia and Georgia’s French Institute held a concert dedicated to the creativity of Olivier Messiaen to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Georgia. The Georgian ensemble of modern music, ‘Georgia Modern,’ and Rezo Kiknadze, Rector of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, were the performers in the big hall of the aforementioned premises.

The meeting was opened by the greeting speech of Ambassador of France to Georgia, H.E. Pascal Meunier, followed by those of the Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze and the Tbilisi Conservatoire Rector. The Ambassador noted that there have always been special relations between the two countries. He mentioned Alexander Dumas, from whose texts about Georgia many other writers and travelers from France became interested in discovering this country, and who themselves went on to share numerous positive impressions as a result of their visits to Georgia.

“Georgia has overcome many difficulties in its history, but it has never stopped fighting for freedom,” he said, adding that Georgia’s aspiration to the free and democratic world has always been obvious, and was awarded by the Associated Agreement in 2014 and visa-free regime with the EU last spring.

“There are a lot of common points between France and Georgia,” the French diplomat told GEORGIA TODAY. “The major common point is the fight for independence. The second is that France has always been beside Georgia in difficult moments - in 1921, when our country respectfully received the Socio-Democratic Government of Georgia which was obliged to go into exile, and in 2008, during the August conflict with Russia. Georgia [too], has always been beside France in difficult periods, such as the Afghanistan War and, recently, in Central Africa. France has a very strong commitment to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia. This was shown yesterday by Florence Parly, Minister of Armed Forces of France, who met Mr. Izoria, [Georgian Defense Minister]. France does not want to isolate Russia from Europe, but we want a firm dialogue with Russia, which occupies its place in the global commonwealth. We are very demanding from Russia in terms of its international commitments. We are very proud that next year, Georgia will mark the 100th anniversary of creation of the First Republic. We are happy that Georgia has decided to pay tribute to France in 2018. We intend to have many visits from France in the political, economic and cultural fields. Our cooperation is very intense in a lot of fields. We want to open a Franco-Georgian University, hopefully next year,” the Ambassador concluded.

Speaking about the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries, Mikheil Janelidze highlighted France’s role in recognizing the First Democratic Republic of Georgia.

“One of the clearest examples of France’s 25-year partnership with Georgia is the return of the Le Ville estate to Georgia,” he said, going on to thank the French Government for its support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and for its European and Euro-Atlantic integration path. He highlighted the close co-operation between the two countries in the areas of economy, trade, investment, defense, education, culture and agriculture.

“On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of restoration of friendly and diplomatic relations between Georgia and France, the Bordeaux Center for Wine and Civilizations is hosting an exhibition titled ‘Georgia – Cradle of Wine,’ which has already been visited by over 33,000 visitors. Georgia is an honorary host of the Wine Civilization Museum, which is essentially important in terms of promoting not only Georgian wine internationally but also for the success of the country,” the Foreign Minister noted.

Rezo Kiknadze, Rector, also thanked France for its support. “Our bilateral cooperation counts decades. I remember the most dramatic point when Sulkhan Saba Orbeliani, our writer, went to France on a special mission to make those relations even more intense. Our contribution is very important, as we know that culture is of paramount importance in politics as well as in the lives of humans,” Kiknadze said, whose work ‘Prelude a la Fin’ opened the celebratory concert. Subsequent to that, Messiaen’s ‘Quartet for the End of Time’ for violin, cello, piano and clarinet was performed, the piece that the composer wrote when he was a prisoner in the German jail during the Second World War. Then, ‘Georgia Modern’ performed ‘Crystal Liturgy’, ‘Vocalize, for the Angel who announces the end of time’, ‘Abyss of birds’ for solo clarinet, ‘Interlude’ for violin, Cello and clarinet, ‘Praise to the eternity of Jesus’ for cello and piano, ‘Dance and fury, for the seven trumpets’ for the full quartet, ‘Tangle of rainbows, for the Angel who announces the end of time’ and ‘Praise to the immortality of Jesus,’ for violin and piano. The Georgian audience, which was also full of foreign diplomats, rewarded the musicians with a storm of applause.

Maka Lomadze