Day: December 8, 2023
On December 7, the Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, who is visiting Kyiv, met with the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniyenko, the press service of the Georgian Public Defender reported. The discussions centered around matters of cooperation between the two countries in the protection of human rights and common challenges.
According to the reported information, Levan Ioseliani also participated in the high-level international human rights conference “Freedom or Fear,” dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. During the conference, the participants received a welcome video from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović, and the Public Defender of Croatia, Tena Šimonović .
The meeting addressed several issues, including the ongoing war in the Ukraine; the challenges of rebuilding the country during war and after victory; the prospects of fighting for the future on the basis of the historical past; the future infrastructural development of the returned territories; justice, including documentation of crimes and accountability, and the need to provide effective security guarantees based on the rule of law.
As reported, the representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, ministers and prime ministers, heads of international organizations, heads of diplomatic missions in Ukraine, and the public defenders of the European countries took part in the conference and presented reports.
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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Georgia reached USD 316.0 million in the third quarter of 2023, according to the preliminary data published by the National Statistics Office (Geostat) on December 8. This marks a 61.5% decrease compared to the adjusted data of the third quarter of 2022.
Source: GeostatThe decline of FDI was due to the reduction of the amount of debt instruments and reinvestment. Debt instruments spending amounted to USD -603.4 million. Meanwhile, USD 590.3 million was in the form of equity investments, which saw a 2.5% increase from the adjusted data of the Q3 of 2022. Reinvestment amounted to USD 329.2 million, down by 30% from the adjusted data of Q3 2022.
The United States topped the list of foreign direct investors with USD 51.8 million (16.4% of total investment), followed by United Kingdom with USD 45.8 million (14.5%), the Netherlands with USD 45.3 million (14.3%), Turkey USD 23.3 million (7.4%) and China USD 19.3 million (6.1%). The top five investor countries collectively represented 58.7% of total investment.
The financial and insurance activities sector attracted the largest FDI share, USD 80.2 million (25.4%), followed by the transport sector with USD 61.9 million (19.6%), information and communication sector with USD 41.0 million (13.0%), energy sector with USD 31.7 million (10.0%) and arts, entertainment and recreation with USD 29.5 million (9.4%).
According to Geostat, adjusted data will be published on 15 August, 2024 that may affect some changes in the existing dynamic sets.
Also Read:
- 08/09/2023 – Geostat: FDI USD 505.7 Million in Q2’23
- 15/08/2023 – 2022 FDI in Georgia at USD 2.098 Bln
- 09/06/2023 – Geostat: FDI USD 496.6 Million in Q1’23
In response to concerns about “non-transparent activities and perceived misinformation”, Abkhazia’s de-facto top diplomat, Inal Ardzinba, announced a new approach to dealing with international NGOs and UN agencies on December 7. According to Ardzinba’s statement, the decision was in particular prompted by ‘discrepancies found in project questionnaires’, notably the ones from the UN Development Programme’s Partnership for Sustainability, which is funded by USAID.
In his statement, he said that “by formulating vague goals and objectives”, the project managers were misinforming the so-called Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order “to achieve the main goal of creating public conditions for the promotion of Georgian policy in Abkhazia.” He noted that “this is confirmed by the official USAID strategy published on the agency’s website”. Ardzniba also complained that Abkhazia is referred in this document as the “occupied territory of Georgia” and that “all activities are aimed at restoring territorial integrity “to counter the harmful influence of the Kremlin”.
Ardzinba said that representatives of USAID and UN agencies and “especially their regional representatives”, are engaged in “collecting and analyzing information regarding current trends on the economic and political development” in Abkhazia stressing that “it was for this purpose” that USAID representatives visited Abkhazia in 2021. He complained that the information on USAID’s official website referred to the visit as a US government visit to the Georgian region of Abkhazia.
Ardzinba expressed concern about the new Mission Director for USAID Caucasus, John A. Pennell, noting that during his tenure as a Deputy Director of the USAID Mission in Ukraine and Belarus “a network of NGO” was established in these countries which “actively interfered in the internal affairs of these countries, contributed to the destabilization of the socio-political situation, discredited the authorities, and made efforts to change the country’s leadership.”
In the same vein he also lamented that funds continue to flow through USAID mechanisms to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, “directed against our main ally, the Russian Federation” and against the residents of Abkhazia who are participating in a “special military operation.”
Noting that “USAID activities in the Russian Federation have been banned since 2012 and in the Republic of Belarus since 2019” Ardzinba cited the “opinion of Russian and Belarusian colleagues” that “Western NGOs aim to change values, discredit cultures, falsify history, and disrupt relations between peoples”.
Stemming from the above, the de-facto minister of the occupied region, has announced the following:
- Declare USAID Regional Director John Pennell persona non-grata in Abkhazia;
- No new projects with partial or full USAID funding will be certified by the so-called ministry;
- Prohibit the implementation of projects aiming to establish contacts between residents of Abkhazia and citizens of Georgia;
- The de-facto ministry will not approve projects with vague or inaccurate information that does not fully reflect the goals and objectives.
- Prohibit the financing of media projects covering “issues of domestic and foreign policy” of the occupied Abkhazia.
- INGOs and UN agencies should coordinate with the so-called ministry “the allocation of funds for initiatives of Abkhaz non-governmental organizations, as well as any activities carried out within the framework of agreed projects”.
Commenting on Ardzinba’s recent decrees, Arda Inal-Ipa, a director of a local organization working on humanitarian issues in occupied Abkhazia expressed her lack of surprise at the decision citing the de facto minister’s “long-standing efforts to quit working with international organizations” and isolate Abkhazia. She said that these actions undermine the achievements of previous de-facto ministers “in building complex relations with various international organizations.”
Inal-ipa questioned whether Ardzinba, who is “obsessed” with the idea of restoring his career in Moscow, “really understands the consequences of his actions”.
Also Read:
On December 7, the Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, who is visiting Kyiv, met with the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniyenko, the press service of the Georgian Public Defender reported. The discussions centered around matters of cooperation between the two countries in the protection of human rights and common challenges.
According to the reported information, Levan Ioseliani also participated in the high-level international human rights conference “Freedom or Fear,” dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. During the conference, the participants received a welcome video from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović, and the Public Defender of Croatia, Tena Šimonović .
The meeting addressed several issues, including the ongoing war in the Ukraine; the challenges of rebuilding the country during war and after victory; the prospects of fighting for the future on the basis of the historical past; the future infrastructural development of the returned territories; justice, including documentation of crimes and accountability, and the need to provide effective security guarantees based on the rule of law.
As reported, the representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, ministers and prime ministers, heads of international organizations, heads of diplomatic missions in Ukraine, and the public defenders of the European countries took part in the conference and presented reports.
Also Read:
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Georgia reached USD 316.0 million in the third quarter of 2023, according to the preliminary data published by the National Statistics Office (Geostat) on December 8. This marks a 61.5% decrease compared to the adjusted data of the third quarter of 2022.
Source: GeostatThe decline of FDI was due to the reduction of the amount of debt instruments and reinvestment. Debt instruments spending amounted to USD -603.4 million. Meanwhile, USD 590.3 million was in the form of equity investments, which saw a 2.5% increase from the adjusted data of the Q3 of 2022. Reinvestment amounted to USD 329.2 million, down by 30% from the adjusted data of Q3 2022.
The United States topped the list of foreign direct investors with USD 51.8 million (16.4% of total investment), followed by United Kingdom with USD 45.8 million (14.5%), the Netherlands with USD 45.3 million (14.3%), Turkey USD 23.3 million (7.4%) and China USD 19.3 million (6.1%). The top five investor countries collectively represented 58.7% of total investment.
The financial and insurance activities sector attracted the largest FDI share, USD 80.2 million (25.4%), followed by the transport sector with USD 61.9 million (19.6%), information and communication sector with USD 41.0 million (13.0%), energy sector with USD 31.7 million (10.0%) and arts, entertainment and recreation with USD 29.5 million (9.4%).
According to Geostat, adjusted data will be published on 15 August, 2024 that may affect some changes in the existing dynamic sets.
Also Read:
- 08/09/2023 – Geostat: FDI USD 505.7 Million in Q2’23
- 15/08/2023 – 2022 FDI in Georgia at USD 2.098 Bln
- 09/06/2023 – Geostat: FDI USD 496.6 Million in Q1’23
In response to concerns about “non-transparent activities and perceived misinformation”, Abkhazia’s de-facto top diplomat, Inal Ardzinba, announced a new approach to dealing with international NGOs and UN agencies on December 7. According to Ardzinba’s statement, the decision was in particular prompted by ‘discrepancies found in project questionnaires’, notably the ones from the UN Development Programme’s Partnership for Sustainability, which is funded by USAID.
In his statement, he said that “by formulating vague goals and objectives”, the project managers were misinforming the so-called Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order “to achieve the main goal of creating public conditions for the promotion of Georgian policy in Abkhazia.” He noted that “this is confirmed by the official USAID strategy published on the agency’s website”. Ardzniba also complained that Abkhazia is referred in this document as the “occupied territory of Georgia” and that “all activities are aimed at restoring territorial integrity “to counter the harmful influence of the Kremlin”.
Ardzinba said that representatives of USAID and UN agencies and “especially their regional representatives”, are engaged in “collecting and analyzing information regarding current trends on the economic and political development” in Abkhazia stressing that “it was for this purpose” that USAID representatives visited Abkhazia in 2021. He complained that the information on USAID’s official website referred to the visit as a US government visit to the Georgian region of Abkhazia.
Ardzinba expressed concern about the new Mission Director for USAID Caucasus, John A. Pennell, noting that during his tenure as a Deputy Director of the USAID Mission in Ukraine and Belarus “a network of NGO” was established in these countries which “actively interfered in the internal affairs of these countries, contributed to the destabilization of the socio-political situation, discredited the authorities, and made efforts to change the country’s leadership.”
In the same vein he also lamented that funds continue to flow through USAID mechanisms to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, “directed against our main ally, the Russian Federation” and against the residents of Abkhazia who are participating in a “special military operation.”
Noting that “USAID activities in the Russian Federation have been banned since 2012 and in the Republic of Belarus since 2019” Ardzinba cited the “opinion of Russian and Belarusian colleagues” that “Western NGOs aim to change values, discredit cultures, falsify history, and disrupt relations between peoples”.
Stemming from the above, the de-facto minister of the occupied region, has announced the following:
- Declare USAID Regional Director John Pennell persona non-grata in Abkhazia;
- No new projects with partial or full USAID funding will be certified by the so-called ministry;
- Prohibit the implementation of projects aiming to establish contacts between residents of Abkhazia and citizens of Georgia;
- The de-facto ministry will not approve projects with vague or inaccurate information that does not fully reflect the goals and objectives.
- Prohibit the financing of media projects covering “issues of domestic and foreign policy” of the occupied Abkhazia.
- INGOs and UN agencies should coordinate with the so-called ministry “the allocation of funds for initiatives of Abkhaz non-governmental organizations, as well as any activities carried out within the framework of agreed projects”.
Commenting on Ardzinba’s recent decrees, Arda Inal-Ipa, a director of a local organization working on humanitarian issues in occupied Abkhazia expressed her lack of surprise at the decision citing the de facto minister’s “long-standing efforts to quit working with international organizations” and isolate Abkhazia. She said that these actions undermine the achievements of previous de-facto ministers “in building complex relations with various international organizations.”
Inal-ipa questioned whether Ardzinba, who is “obsessed” with the idea of restoring his career in Moscow, “really understands the consequences of his actions”.
Also Read: