Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday highlighted his participation in important panel discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, as well as holding high-level meetings and reviewing both politics and the investment potential of Georgia on the sidelines of the Forum.

In his comments to the journalists, Garibashvili said he had taken part in the closed dialogue, held with the participation and leadership of Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission and moderated by Børge Brende, the President of the WEF.

Yesterday at a dinner “dedicated to the future of Europe”, the participants “unanimously” recognised the progress of Georgia - the country that has already become a candidate country of the European Union, the PM noted. 

The main issue concerned the European integration of the Balkan countries, this process in general, [...] as well as our integration in the European Union. The Prime Minister of Moldova and also the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine participated in this panel with me, in this closed format”, Garibashvili stressed.

“I thanked all the European leaders, as the meeting was attended by European leaders, prime ministers, presidents, [...] I thanked them on behalf of our country, [as we] received the most important achievement together [EU candidate status] in December”, the PM added.

Of course, the conversation also touched on the crisis in Ukraine, which has a direct impact not only on the security of Europe, but also on the order of the whole world”, Garibashvili emphasised.

The developments in the Middle East, including in Israel, were also discussed, the PM noted, stressing “it is in our interest to end this war, this conflict as soon as possible and to finally establish and restore peace and stability”. He also highlighted the meeting with Isaac Herzog, the President of Israel, earlier today.

The Head of the Government said he had had interesting meetings with the representatives and heads of “various large companies” and added they had agreed on the specific dates when they would visit Georgia to discuss investments in the country.

Participation in the panel discussion titled Towards a Lead-Free Future on Wednesday, on the invitation of Samantha Power, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, was also emphasised by Garibashvili. He pointed out the importance of the issue for Georgia and the rest of the world, as the problem concerned children, pregnant women and their health.

Georgia’s success in combating lead exposure was presented as an example at the panel discussion, as the country has taken “significant and effective steps” to reduce the lead content in blood, the PM added.