Zviad Chumburidze, Secretary General of the EU-Georgia Business Council, spoke about the current diplomatic and investment crisis in Georgia.
He stated that the lack of political stability and the breakdown of international formats have halted European and American investment inflows into the country. Chumburidze highlighted the practical dysfunction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noting that under conditions of political instability, businesses avoid committing capital.
“In the last two years, I haven’t seen any serious investors from Europe or the U.S. in Georgia. Despite this difficult situation, our council recently held consultations with the French ambassador, with Germany, and also with Poland. We want to maintain these bilateral relationships, which practically no longer exist. Every international format has been disrupted. Name me one international organization where there isn’t a challenge - from the UN to the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and generally, let’s not even talk about the EU. Unfortunately, we have labeled them as enemies of Georgia.
I could not have imagined that during my diplomatic career, everything we built could be dismantled so quickly. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which my generation created – and I think my colleagues will agree – from nothing, we built the ministry, is today practically nonfunctional and abolished. This is a catastrophic result. Investors first seek a stable environment, a politically stable environment. Without political stability, forget about investors. Ultimately, all of this will not advance our country but will freeze it in place,” said Chumburidze.
