Georgian Ambassador: People-to-People Relations Key to Bilateral Cooperation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Georgian Ambassador to Indonesia, Tornike Nozadze, stated that people-to-people relations are extremely important for the ties between Indonesia and Georgia. “People-to-people relations are always, and honestly, very important in inter-country relations,” said Nozadze in an exclusive interview with the ANTARA News Agency at the ANTARA Heritage Center in Jakarta on Tuesday (28/4). Despite the considerable geographical distance between the two countries, he said they share many similarities, including food, as Georgian cuisine is not only rich in spices but also spicy. Indonesians who holiday in Georgia, he said, greatly enjoy the local and traditional food in that country. Conversely, Georgians who visit Indonesia also say that Indonesian food is very delicious, and they do not feel much difference in that regard. “They all expressed a desire to return again, and that once again forms a very strong foundation for developing people-to-people relations,” he said. Not only that, cultural exchanges and regional cooperation are also progressing well. He cited the City of Sukabumi, which recently hosted a diplomatic forum attended by several ambassadors, and conveyed plans to make Sukabumi a twin or Sister City with one of the cities in Georgia. Nozadze stated that he is also actively raising awareness among students about Georgia and striving to increase the number of student exchanges, which are expected to serve as a good foundation for future youth cooperation. Considering Indonesia’s increasing role in the Indo-Pacific region and ASEAN, Nozadze again emphasised that Georgia continues to strive to enhance its cooperation with Indonesia at all levels, both political, economic, trade, cultural, and especially people-to-people relations. He believes that international relations and inter-country cooperation are not much different from relations between companies and between communities. “Because the friendlier the relations between individuals, the better the results that will be obtained from those relations, and the same applies to between countries,” he said. Meanwhile, in the trade sector, Nozadze also said that over the past decade, Georgia has built road infrastructure and railway infrastructure to facilitate the movement of goods, enabling it to become a gateway from Asia to Europe and vice versa. Georgia has also begun constructing its third port in the Black Sea, which will be one of the deepest ports. And that, according to him, is very important to enable Georgia to receive high-tonnage cargo ships, thereby allowing them to increase the flow of goods in and out of Georgia.