U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan held a farewell press conference in Tbilisi on August 25. Among other topics, the Ambassador has been asked what she would have done differently and what legacy is she leaving to her successor, what is her advice to Robin Dunnigan.
"The only regret I have is to see the polarization continuing in the country. When I arrived in January of 2020, the country was already in the midst of a crisis that resulted from the July 20, 2019, events with Gavrilov taking the speaker’s chair and speaking Russian in Georgia. The country was already divided. I think, unfortunately, further events happened that deepened that polarization. I worked very hard with the EU ambassador, with other ambassadors who care very much about the stability and the progress of this country, on something that was, we hoped, going to reduce the polarization. It’s very important, I think, for people to remember that it was the political parties, including Georgian Dream, including all the parties that were elected in the 2020 election, that asked the United States and the European Union to help facilitate them reaching a solution.
All of the proposals that were reflected in the April 19th agreement were put on the table by the political parties themselves in one form or another. So this was not something that the United States or European Union created, this was something that was negotiated by Georgia’s political leaders. That’s why it was such an important step forward when 129 out of 150 members of Parliament signed onto that April 19th agreement signed onto supporting the idea of working together constructively in the Parliament to advance Georgia’s reforms and advance Georgia’s best interests. Again, this was the United States and the European Union providing a place, just a place and some encouragement, maybe sometimes some technical expertise on different issues, including things like electronic voting to help the political leaders of Georgia negotiate a solution. We hope that that is what Georgian political leaders will be doing in Parliament very soon, because that’s how democracy works.
But the electronic voting proposal was put on the table by the political parties, not us. We actually encouraged moving slowly with that, or taking it step by step, because it is different and it is complicated. It’s also expensive to buy all the equipment. And so, the idea of testing it on 10% of the precincts, and then I think the proposal was to, then in the next election, try 70% of the precincts and then take it from there based on how smoothly it went and where there were problems. I think we were all surprised that it went from 10% to 90%. That’s quite ambitious. And again, why it will be important that there is an information campaign for voters and a very good training campaign for precinct workers.
Where I hope my legacy will be is in terms of the engagement we’ve had with Young Georgians. It has certainly been the highlight of my experience here is to have conversations with young Georgians all over this country to hear about their dreams, to see how dedicated they are to the success of their country, to see how much they wanna be able to stay in their own communities and have good careers raise their families in an environment that allows for that kind of opportunity, that allows good education, good jobs. I have learned so much from them, whether it was at our American Spaces, we have 17 across the country, or at universities that I’ve had the privilege of speaking at, at sports events where you meet kids that are really dedicated and disciplined about something that they’re passionate about. So I hope it will be in my engagement with the youth that I think are such a bright future for this country.
I would also say with women entrepreneurs. I have been so pleased to meet so many women who are taking their small businesses or their larger businesses and developing them often with the help of USAID and training programs we have, giving them opportunities and exchange programs to meet with other entrepreneurs. They are just so inspiring to see the hard work they put into, and it often benefits, much more than their families, it often benefits their whole community by generating jobs. So I’ve learned a lot from the Georgians that I’ve talked to. It’s been, as I said, very inspiring. And, I hope that, I know that we will continue the kinds of exchanges across the board, whether it’s with the students or with judges, or with business people or with our government colleagues, so that they have a chance to learn about America and Americans have a chance to learn more directly about this wonderful country that I’ve been so, so privileged to serve in," Ambassador Degnan said.
Kelly Degnan arrived in Tbilisi on January 29, 2020, to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Georgia. For the next two years, she will serve as a senior foreign policy adviser in Washington. She will be succeeded as US ambassador by Robin Dunnigan, who until recently was the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
