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With my wife Dace we traveled to the other side of the map again and we are in Georgia, a country in the Caucasus region. Join us, we are going to walk its streets to see what happens and share it with you.
In recent years, Georgia has maintained a close relationship with the European Union and has sought to establish stronger ties in several areas. Its recent war against Russia over the Ossetia and Abkhazia regions have strengthened ties with Europe, although new geopolitical circumstances make that alliance has discordant points.
In 2014, Georgia signed an Association Agreement with the EU, which includes provisions on political, economic and security cooperation, as well as trade liberalization and the establishment of a free trade area. This pro-Western deal is aimed at strengthening ties between Georgia and the EU and promoting domestic reforms in key areas.
That is why Georgia is one of the countries associated with the EU's Eastern Partnership programme, which seeks to foster cooperation with neighboring countries in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. Through this partnership, Georgia benefits from cooperation programs in areas such as governance, mobility, energy and connectivity.
In 2017, Georgia achieved visa liberalization with the European Union, allowing Georgian citizens to travel to most EU countries visa-free for short stays. This facilitates cultural, commercial and tourist exchanges between Georgia and the EU Member States.
Georgia has also sought to strengthen its security and defense cooperation with the EU. He has participated in European Union crisis management missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, it has sought to align its defense and security policies with those of the EU.
For its part, the European Union has provided political and financial support to Georgia in its reform process in areas such as the rule of law, democracy, human rights, the economy and governance. The EU has highlighted the importance of Georgia continuing to make progress on these reforms in order to strengthen its relationship with the Union.
But within Georgia there are political sectors that are concerned about this pro-Western position that distances it from Russia. It is that according to data from the World Bank they indicate that the GDP of the South Caucasus, the region that includes Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, grew by 7% in 2022.
That number far exceeds the 5.6% growth that economists had predicted, mainly in Georgia, where it rose 10.1%. And in all this, investments from Russia, the great neighbor to the north, have a lot to do with it.
That is why an eventual adherence by Tbilisi to economic sanctions against Russia, as demanded by Western countries, would harm Georgia's national interests and destroy its economy, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili declared.
Flights between Tbilisi and Moscow have recently been re-established, and European symbols have been removed during official events as attempts to express an intention to rapprochement with Russia.
The reality is that there is no clear course for Georgia and that may affect the well-being of its inhabitants in one way or another, although, from what we have seen these days, these do not seem to be bad times for this country in the Caucasus.
Meanwhile, the protesters continue to carry European banners and flags and insignia of Western ideologies among weapons and personnel in NATO custody. Georgia's future is yet to be written.
Traveling is hyper-living and we thank you for coming with us to Georgia and Armenia, the easternmost countries we have visited so far. New destinations are coming and we want you to meet them with us.
#delotroladodelmapa #ViajarEsHipervivir
🌎 Subtitles in Portuguese, Italian, German, French, Russian, Polish and English.
🔎 I am Gustavo Llusá, Argentine, after traveling for several years in more than 65 countries, I settled in Latvia where I married Dace and learned to know another way of life, on the other side of the map.
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