Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia took part in the high-level Open Government Summit together with world leaders. The summit was held online, within the framework of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly.

The participants of the summit were addressed by the leaders of various countries who played a special role in the fight against the pandemic and took effective measures together with the civil society.

In his speech, the head of the Government of Georgia emphasized the role of the Open Government Partnership initiative, while also stressing Georgia’s commitment to the principles of the partnership and the success achieved by the country on the path of democratic development. The Prime Minister noted that the results of the reforms carried out by the country in the fight against corruption, the development of public services, and the establishment of progressive open government became particularly tangible during the fight against COVID-19.

 “Georgia has acted as a leader of Open Government Partnership (OGP) and hosted the 5th OGP Global Summit in Tbilisi. The success story of our country continues and we remain committed to the Open Government Partnership and its values.

We have a solid track record of implementing drastic measures to fight corruption, develop public services, and establish progressive open government. The results of these efforts became particularly tangible upon the commencement of the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Technologies, public services, and trust-building with the civil society that were developed in our country over the years have helped us remain as transparent as possible in the times of the novel coronavirus,” the Prime Minister stated.

Giorgi Gakharia also emphasized the need for cooperation with the civil society, noting that the difficult period of the pandemic reminded everyone of the importance of continuous cooperation between the government, the civil society, the private sector, and international partners.

 “Prior to the crisis, Georgia renewed the OGP co-creation process with the civil society by establishing high-level institutional infrastructure, which ensures the equal distribution of power between the government and the civil society.

This crisis is proof that no matter the gravity of the threat, the values of accountability, transparency and participation remain fundamental and only open government can be responsive to citizens’ needs and resilient to the challenges of the modern world.

In these hard times, we all were reminded that continuous cooperation among the government, the civil society, the private sector, and international partners is the key to success. We continue the reforms we started prior to the pandemic and we stand ready to use this challenging time as an opportunity to initiate innovative solutions for service delivery, budget transparency, and other directions that define the essence of good governance.

I am confident that with open government we can deliver meaningful change to our countries during the pandemic and post-pandemic periods,” the PM noted.

Members of the OGP Steering Committee, including Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel, President of France Emmanuel Macron, and Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte addressed the participants of the meeting. The Open Government Partnership is an international initiative that brings together 78 countries.

Georgia hosted the 5th OGP Global Summit in Tbilisi in 2018. In 2019, member states reelected Georgia as a member of the OGP Steering Committee for a three-year term.