Georgian Embassy in the U.S. hosted a gala reception dedicated to Georgia’s Independence Day and the 30th anniversary of Georgia-U.S. diplomatic relations establishment, Georgian Ambassador to the U.S., David Zalkaliani wrote on Facebook.

The evening featured keynote speeches by Ambassador David Zalkaliani, US Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper, and Senator Gary Peters.

Deputy Chief of Mission George Tsikolia led the evening as a show host. The speakers stressed the dedicated fight for freedom by several generations of Georgians and the vital importance of a strong strategic partnership between Georgia and the United States amid current circumstances.

The invited guests had an opportunity to enjoy the outstanding performance by the Georgian folk Ensemble Shvidkatsa; in addition to the Georgian, US, and EU anthems, Shvidkatsa performed a Ukrainian song and several famous Georgian folk songs. Georgian businessman Dimitri Abdushelishvili supported the musical program.

The event brought together about 500 friends of Georgia from the US government and political circles, public and international organizations, Georgian diaspora organizations, private companies, and diplomatic corps.

National Wine Agency provided a Georgian wine display, highlighting Georgia as the oldest viticulture in the world, dating back to 6000 BC.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Georgia-U.S. bilateral diplomatic relations, Embassy partnered with Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA/Tech Park) to create a non-Fungible Token (NFT), which was drawn in a lottery format and presented to a winner.