VOICE - POLITICS & SOCIETY
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Secondly, Georgia offers Polish and EU exporters the kind of “software” that is invaluable in a climate of international political turbulence. Along with Switzerland, Georgia is the only country in Europe that has a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU but also a Free Trade Agreement with China, the CIS and Turkey. There is also a less practical reason. Like Poland, we are committed to a Euro-Atlantic trajectory. We are committed to the process as much as the destination. We are committed to a community that shares economic and political values. And we are committed to EU and NATO membership. Commitment is not just words: Everyone from Warsaw to Brussels knows we are frontrunners in reforms and an outlier in critical governance indicators. But until we become full members of the Euro-Atlantic community, we need to survive. Like Poland, Georgia knows that if you live in a land between empires, your choices are limited: You must be too hard to chew or too instrumental to destroy. I would prefer Georgia to be as instrumental as possible, to everyone, including the toughest neighbor, but without conceding its strategic agenda, which is Georgia’s independence and sovereignty. We need to stand firmly on our own two feet and make our own sovereign decisions without hampering the interests of others. Anaklia contributes to this narrative. Ten years from now, I want everyone around us to say “if Georgia did not exist, we would have to invent it.” Every country in the Eastern Partnership except Belarus has to deal with an occupied territory: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine. Does Anaklia being on the doorstep of Abkhazia pose a danger? Well, Georgia needs to refocus its attention from its relationship with Abkhazia as a Russian puppet regime and cultivate a relationship with Abkhazians. Abkhazia is not only a piece of Georgia’s historical territory. It is also the scene of a centuries-long relationship and cohabitation with our Abkhaz sisters and brothers. We need to deal with the past, face the skeletons in our closet, but above all create a viable future, together. Georgia has made bold steps to open its social services, universities, minds and hearts to the citizens of Abkhazia and, of course, Ossetia. And I can see no reason why Anaklia could not be a place where several thousand of them can work. We intend to build a whole city. I am convinced we can build a future inclusive of the citizens of Abkhazia. I am not afraid. I am excited at the prospects before us.
And there is a flip side to the fear one may have toward the Russians. Each of the occupied territories you refer to is a loss-making operation. High unemployment, subsidized energy, loss-making industries, absolute poverty. Georgia is thriving and, ultimately, it is in the interest of Russia to be surrounded by economically vibrant countries with social cohesion. The alternative is failed states in a region full of weapons, which would undermine Russia’s own security paradigm. Georgia has built a reputation as a place easy to do business. Is it? Doing business is never easy. It entails risk, hard work, and effective planning. Georgia is a good place because we try to take away much of the hustle in doing business. We are low on taxation and red tape and high on transparency. And we are steadfast on the rule of law. Did I mention a good climate and a world-class gastronomic culture? Anaklia has a series of additional benefits as an industrial zone, not least a provision for English-language dispute settlement tribunals and a constitutionally guaranteed zero-tax regime. Make no mistake: Georgia will do whatever it takes to create new manufacturing and logistics value chains. Anaklia is our new “Gdynia” [Gdynia city and port was built between the wars to give Poland logistic access to the Baltic Sea – The Warsaw Voice]. To answer your question, business is never easy anywhere. But Georgia makes it easier. Is Anaklia an Asian or a European port? There is an old Norwegian proverb: Land divides, sea unites. The mountainous region of the Caucasus is rich in languages as it is rich in valleys. It is the sea that unites us with Europe. For centuries, we were the door of Christianity, Chinese silk, tea, and our own-grown wine to Europe. But we were also the dragomans of Europe making their way toward Central Asia and the Far East. We were never just a door, we were also Europe’s guides to Asia. Anaklia could be something similar. The city around Anaklia has a constitutionally guaranteed status ensuring a zero-corporate tax regime, an English-language arbitration tribunal, privileged customs access, and world-class infrastructure. We offer not just a door to Asia, but a deeper kind of access. In this sense, Anaklia is a model for what Georgia should be. Summer 2019, The Warsaw Voice magazine Limited Edition