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international

was adopted and which established the First for guidance online or in person. We are in
Democratic Republic of Georgia in the constant communication. Luckily technology
aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917. has developed so much that working
Independence Day is associated to some public from home does not interfere with our
and private events celebrating the history and communication. Whether it is “on” or “offline”
culture of Georgia. we are always motivated, agile and adaptive.
Of course, in-person meetings are preferred,
From what we understand, you seem to be but when it comes to safety and health, we
a security policy specialist. What do you see follow our host government regulations.
as the major dangers facing our world? And
why do so many people find this field so Approximately 30 years ago Georgia became
fascinating? a member of the United Nations family. Since
Security is such a tangible and specific aspect then, your country has been continually
of the study. It can be institutionalized in evolving. How is the situation today?
theories, but at the end of the day, theoretical Georgia is going through continuous
solutions may not affect people on the ground democratic reforms. We are the frontrunners
as it was intended. Depending on where one in the democratic development in our region
stands, there are different security challenges. and beyond. It is because of the multilateral
For the liberal world order, the greatest diplomacy and development tools, that we have
security challenge is the rise of authoritarian come so far. Our geostrategic environment
states, which promote conventional and non- gives us the competitive advantage to be the
conventional, hybrid, and asymmetric threats. connecting bridge and a hub. We are the
The attempts of the revitalization of the Cold EU Associated and NATO aspirant country.
War mentality remain to be a challenge, along Though 20% of our country is illegally
with the attempts to re-establish the spheres occupied, we do not let this fact hinder our
of influence and imposition of choices on development and strive towards democratic
independent and sovereign states. ideals.

The World Economic Forum just stated that Apart from your famous mineral water,
one of the challenges in the year to come is Borjomi, what are the main export goods
cyber security and competition in space. Do from Georgia?
you share this point of view? Indeed, both Borjomi resort and mineral water
I do agree that both cyber security and brand are Georgian gems enjoyed worldwide.
competition in space are challenges. It seems But here is also an interesting fact: in addition
to me that threats to cyber security are no to Borjomi, Georgia has over 2,000 mineral
longer in future. Already existing tools are water springs.
here and are more than capable of delivering
immediate damage to many products or There is so much more to be explored though.
programs, heavily depending on cyber It has been scientifically proven that Georgian
security grid, including space competition, winemaking tradition is 8000 years old. Today
which in its turn is a subject to consider for Georgia produces a wide variety of wines in
the strategic foresight experts for anticipatory 10 main wine-growing regions and has more
governance. Cyber tools can be used to cause than 500 recognized varieties of grapes.
damage and destruction; it is a contemporary
weapon and must be handled carefully. Georgia’s wine exports grew considerably over
the last years and were relatively stable in 2020,
How do you and your staff at the Permanent despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2015,
Mission deal with the challenges of “online” the number of bottles exported has increased
diplomacy? by 156% and the value by 121%, thus exports
We quickly adapted to the online format at to most countries exhibited similar growth.
the Mission. My door is always open when my In 2020, the share of wine exports constituted
team needs to discuss, debate matters, or ask 6.3% of Georgia`s total merchandise exports.

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