#Irakli Garibashvili

[globalcourant]

Georgian government calls on peoples of Abkhazia, South Ossetia to build country together

Georgian government calls on peoples of Abkhazia, South Ossetia to build country together

TBILISI, Georgia The Georgian government called Sunday on its “brothers” in its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to work with it to build a single, peaceful democratic state. In a statement marking the 30th anniversary of the start of the Abkhazia war, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said his government is in favor of a peaceful solution to the country’s longstanding problems…

[timesofocean]

Thousands rally in Georgia to push government on EU membership

New Post has been published on https://www.timesofocean.com/rally-in-georgia-to-push-government-on-eu-membership/

Thousands rally in Georgia to push government on EU membership

Belgrade, Serbia (The Times Groupe) – The Georgian capital Tbilisi was filled with thousands of protesters calling on the government to maintain the country’s EU membership course. GEORGIA

On Sunday, demonstrators gathered outside the parliament and urged the government to implement the necessary reforms to integrate Georgia into the European Union.

A rally was organized by the United National Movement (UNM), the main opposition party founded by jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.

They chanted slogans for closer ties with the EU as they waved Georgian and EU flags.

As well as banners supporting Saakashvili, who is serving a six-year prison sentence for abuse of power, protesters also condemned Russia.

UNM opposition leaders accused the government of backsliding on democracy and acting under Russian influence.

As a result of not meeting the EU’s 12-point criteria, the government of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili failed to secure Georgia’s EU candidate status last year.

After Ukraine applied for EU membership on Feb. 28, just four days after Russia launched its first attack, Georgia and Moldova applied on March 3 last year.

The EU Commission granted candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova on June 17, but said Georgia’s bid would be reassessed once it met the bloc’s criteria. Times of ocean TIBLISN

[coochiequeens]

As long as women live in poverty and are vulnerable to exploitation there needs to be greater regulation in commercial surrogacy.

As we all know, pregnancy generally takes around nine months, plus recovery time. And humans aren’t great at having much more than one or two children at once. That really limits how many children one person or couple can have at a time.

Or at least it used to.

Assisted reproductive technology and gestational surrogacy have changed what’s possible for human reproduction. For those suffering medical or other obstacles, surrogacy can be a miracle solution to parenthood. Others, however, are pushing the limits on the possibilities provided by the new technology.

1,000 Children, Please

Japanese businessman Mitsutoki Shigeta made headlines in 2014 when Thai authorities discovered nine babies being cared for in a mostly unfurnished condo in Bangkok. The children were all genetically related to Shigeta, and born by surrogacy. Mariam Kukunashvili, a co-founder of the Thai fertility clinic that assisted Shigeta in finding surrogates, reported Shigeta to Thai authorities after Shigeta “revealed plans for more than 1,000 children.” Kukunashvili and Thai authorities were concerned that Shigeta may be involved in human trafficking.

Yet a Thai court later awarded Shigeta custody of all nine of his children, in addition to other children who were genetically related to him, and found elsewhere. After hearing evidence, the court also found no evidence of human trafficking. So, a happy ending?

Not quite.

Shigeta’s case was not the only one grabbing headlines as to the questionability of surrogacy. Another nightmare case around the same time. There, an Australian couple conceived twins via a Thai surrogate. After the twins’ birth, reports came out that the parents returned to Australia with only one of the twins, leaving behind the other twin, who had been diagnosed with Down syndrome. (Although it later came to light that the parents tried to leave with both babies and were unable to.)

In 2015, Thailand responded by banning non-Thai citizens from paying Thai women to act as surrogates, including the potential of a 10-year prison sentence for violators. The result was a complete shutdown of Thailand’s international surrogacy practices.

As frequently happens, when one country shuts down international surrogacy, another country sees a rise in business. In the past couple of decades, the Eastern European country of Georgia has seen surrogacy grow in popularity. But that looks like it may all end as well.

20 Kids In A Year

Shigeta isn’t the only one to look to surrogacy to have a high number of children in a short time. One couple in Georgia has received media coverage over their fast-growing family. With the help of surrogates, the couple, Kristina and Galip Ozturk, have had 21 children in just over a year. And they have plans for additional children. Like Shigeta, the Georgia couple have the financial means to afford surrogacy, as well as a large staff to care for their growing families.

Georgia Closes Its Doors

Last month, Georgia introduced a bill to shut down compensated surrogacy in that country and to specifically exclude all international intended parents. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced on June 12, 2023, that a bill was in progress to tightly regulate surrogacy in the country.

Unafraid of embracing homophobic rhetoric, Garibashvili specifically cited concerns that same-sex couples may be having children in Georgia, and taking them home. But others noted, as though it were a good thing, that there was already a process in place in Georgia preventing same-sex couples from accessing surrogacy services.

The new law in Georgia is expected to pass this fall. It prohibits women in Georgia from being compensated for surrogacy, limiting the practice only to “altruistic” surrogacy arrangements. It also prohibits Georgian women from carrying pregnancies for foreign couples starting in 2024.

That’s bad news for couples like the Ozturks, who are unlikely to be as successful at finding willing surrogates if they are not permitted to pay them. Though at 21 kids, they can hopefully declare victory and be finished. The real issue is that the new Georgia law is bad news for international hopeful parents, who may be unable to afford the price tag in the United States for surrogacy.

US Guidelines

The United States has not turned a blind eye to the issue. In 2022, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) issued “Recommendations for practices using gestational carriers: a committee opinion.” Among the list of criteria for rejection of intended parents is an “inability to maintain respectful and caring relationship with a gestational carrier,” ”ongoing legal disputes,” and — on point here — “Intended parents’ reproductive plan is to pursue concurrent pregnancies by embryo transfers to more than one gestational carrier or seeking concurrent pregnancies for a gestational carrier and intended parent.”

Most fertility clinics in the United States are members of ASRM and committed to following ASRM guidelines and recommendations. So while it is not technically illegal to pursue multiple surrogacy pregnancies at once in the United States, it may now be difficult to find the medical providers to support the plan.

When intended parents take family-building to an extreme, the temptation can be to cast doubt on the appropriateness of surrogacy generally. But that is a misguided reflexive reaction. Regulation can solve the problem of those trying to build an army of children. But for those with limited options who turn to surrogacy for the hopes of a child, eliminating surrogacy means eliminating one of the most viable options to family formation.

So let’s hope that stories likes the Ozturks’ and Shegeta’s don’t ruin it for others.

Ellen Trachman is the Managing Attorney of Trachman Law Center, LLC, a Denver-based law firm specializing in assisted reproductive technology law, and co-host of the podcast I Want To Put A Baby In You. You can reach her at babies@abovethelaw.com.

[zvaigzdelasas]

China’s global infrastructure strategy stood out as a main talking point in his meetings with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday and his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo on Thursday.[...]

Xi told Garibashvili that China was ready to push forward with building the belt and road with Georgia. He added that Beijing welcomed more exports from the country and encouraged more Chinese companies to invest there.

Xi said the two countries were set to announce that bilateral relations would be upgraded to a “strategic partnership” during Garibashvili’s trip to China, according to state news agency Xinhua. China and Georgia ratified a free-trade agreement in 2017 – Beijing’s first with a former Soviet state. Georgia applied for EU membership last year and has launched a bid to join Nato. In the meeting with his Guyanese counterpart, Xi said Beijing was willing to further align the belt and road strategy and the South American nation’s low-carbon development strategy.[...]

China signed belt and road cooperation agreements with Georgia in 2015 and Guyana in 2018.[...]

In the meeting with Widodo, Xi hailed the two “like-minded” Asian neighbours, which had made “major achievements” in aligning Beijing’s belt and road plan and Jakarta’s global maritime axis, a strategy to develop port infrastructure and strengthen maritime security.

Indonesia was where Xi launched the idea of the “21st century Maritime Silk Road” a decade ago, one of the two major pillars of the belt and road.

Widodo said that the high-speed railway linking Jakarta and Bandung – a cornerstone project of the belt and road – would come into operation on schedule next month. [...]

Xi also met and discussed the belt and road with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye on Friday. China and Mauritania signed a cooperation plan to jointly promote building the belt and road on Friday.[...]

Beijing announced on Monday that Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka would also attend the opening ceremony, but he later had to cancel the visit to China after falling and hurting his head.

28 Jul 23

[dougielombax]

Interesting.

I agree.

This shit should’ve started yesterday.

[groupfazza]

استقبل صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم نائب رئيس الدولة رئيس مجلس الوزراء حاكم دبي “رعاه الله” بحضور سمو الشيخ حمدان بن محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم، ولي عهد دبي، معالي إيراكلي غاريبا شفيلي، رئيس وزراء جمهورية جورجيا، وذلك على هامش مشاركته في القمة العالمية للحكومات.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, met with Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia, on the sidelines of his participation at the World Government Summit.

Monday, 13 February 2023 الأثنين

[algebraicvarietyshow]

Beszédében üdvözölte Budapesten a szabad világ védelmezőit- számára ez többek között Andrej Babis volt cseh és Janez Jansa volt szlovén miniszterelnököt, Václav Klaus volt cseh elnököt, illetve Irakli Garibashvili grúz miniszterelnököt jelenti. A CPAC-re üzenetet küld Tucker Carlson is.

mondjuk azon is el lehet gondolkozni, hogy a szabad vilag vedelmezoi szinte kivetel nelkul bukott politikusok (gruziarol meg inkabb ne is beszeljunk, szabad vilag vedelmezoje = lavirozas a nyugat es az orosz erdekek kozott)

[wafact]

Germany backs Georgia's EU membership bid

Robert Habeck, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, and Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia, shared their views on Georgia’s EU membership bid. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images BERLIN — German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck backed the European Union membership bid of Russia’s Caucasus neighbor, Georgia, saying that the country was…

[panelki]

To Europe “po Blatu”

It seems that less-than-democratic regimes in the Balkans and the Caucasus are entertaining the feeling that Victor Orban’s Hungary represents their access point to the European Union on their own terms. We are witnessing the revival of a very Soviet concept of “blat” on European soil. Anyone who has lived, even for a fleeting moment, in the Soviet Union is familiar with the concept of “blat.” Linguists say the concept was apparently born in the Russian Empire’s petty criminal underworld and denoted a person, who, while not being part of the thieving enterprise, could provide vital information or access to coveted property. In Soviet gulags, the meaning of “blat” changed : it now meant someone in the prison system who was willing to provide access to goods or privileges that inmates were not allowed. As the gulag subculture and jargon expanded throughout the Soviet Union, to get things “po blatu” (or “through blat”) evolved to mean accessing goods and services that ordinary Soviet citizens were not entitled to — from toilet paper to caviar to Bolshoi theater tickets — through a conveniently placed facilitator or intermediary. Today, European Union membership is one such coveted privilege. Yes, it can be accessed legally, but many entrenched regimes would prefer not to pay the high price of adapting their system of governance — simply because the rule of law, free elections and free media might mean the demise of their own rule. So they seek a roundabout way. Enter Victor Orban, self-professed ideological architect of another, “illiberal” Europe — “the Dark Continent” to borrow the title of Mark Mazower’s excellent historical review, which argues that nothing was preordained in the emergence of democratic Europe, and that another European ideology — of petty nationalisms, fascism, and authoritarianism - was just as potent. True, Hungary was a functioning democracy when it entered the European Union. But as it stands now, Budapest is a beacon of hope for all those profiteering leaders convinced that all the talk of rule of law, human rights, and freedoms emanating from Brussels is just empty ideologized banter — just like the communist ideological cliches were in the late Soviet period. They hope their man on the inside — one Mr. Orban — could unlock the door from within, providing access to the coveted structural funds and other EU goodies that could cement their regimes for posterity, by preventing the collapse of badly managed economies. But can Orban do that, really? Given the EU’s complex decision-making structure, especially when it comes to membership, the correct answer is probably “no”. But in this game, just as often in politics, perception matters more. Accession to the EU is a multi-stage process. Given that EU membership is popular with electorates — for political, but also mercantile reasons - clearing each stage brings electoral benefits to the ruling parties and politicians, not to mention the ideological boost. By showing they advance toward the EU without changing their ways, they can demoralize the opposition and further undermine it electorally. This was apparently the thinking of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili when he rolled out the red carpet in Tbilisi to EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi in mid-November. Mr. Varhelyi is known as Orban’s close ally. He has been called “Orban’s man in Brussels” by respectable Deutsche Welle, and even the “Voldemort of enlargement” by no less respectable Politico. The Georgian and Hungarian prime ministers signed a declaration of “strategic partnership” in October, and Varhelyi has met Garibashvili, who governs the country on behalf of his boss, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, on at least four occasions in one year. Oliver Varhelyiand Irakli Garibachvili, in November. // Varhelyi’s Twitter account As always, the tone was cordial, with the Commissioner pointing out that “the economy is apparently doing great” judging by the capital’s main throughfare, and ducking questions about the ruling party pressuring the opposition. Yes, he paid pro forma lip service to the reforms necessary for Georgia to get the status of a candidate state. But the main thrust of his commentary was about ensuring connectivity — oil and gas pipelines, and perhaps internet cable — to authoritarian Azerbaijan, which has become an energy lifeline to the EU. Garibashvili has been irritated by hundreds of thousands of Georgians hitting the streets over the summer when his government failed to secure the candidacy alongside Ukraine and Moldova. Tbilisi’s official line on the war in Ukraine repeats almost word for word Orban’s own messaging about his government securing “stability and security.” Just like Hungary’s ruling “Fidesz”, the ruling “Georgian Dream” has articulated the message about the “duplicitous western conspiracy” to use Ukraine as an armed stick to beat Putin’s Russia with. Kim Lane Scheppele demonstrated brilliantly how that message helped Orban defeat the united opposition in the last elections and to cement his power to the extent that it no longer seems to be possible to unseat him through constitutional means. Now Mr. Ivanishvili aims to keep Garibashvili’s unpopular government in place by using similar tactics. Georgia is not the first to try and use the Hungarian “blat”. Serbia’s authoritarian ruler, Aleksandar Vucic, has taken many a leaf from Orban’s playbook. He has also courted Commissioner Varhelyi to advance on the EU path, while muzzling the media, bullying the opposition, and staying as ambiguous as possible about Putin’s regime. Dysfunctional politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina have tried to do the same. Where does this leave the European Union? Of course, Mr. Orban’s motives are not altruistic. He has been the enfant terrible of the EU for a while now, at odds with Brussels on too many counts. The front he put up together with Poland to protect himself from tougher EU sanctions has weakened considerably, as Budapest increasingly diverged with Warsaw on Russia. But helping Brussels out in getting Azerbaijani oil and gas may compensate that damage somewhat, while grooming the regimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Georgia as potentially grateful candidates may bring dividends down the road. This is a dangerous path for the internal coherence of the European Union as a value-based alliance of states. If the ability of Ukraine to resist the Russian aggression has demonstrated anything, it is that cohesion based on values is not only ethically admirable, but it also underpins the state’s resilience against undemocratic foes. The Ukrainian resistance — and Putin’s brutal recklessness - has opened eyes wide shut in the Western capitals to the expediency of admitting new members. But admitting governments that cynically defy the EU’s own rules would only boost the pattern of “negative convergence” where increasingly seasoned European democracies come to resemble dysfunctional central and Eastern European polities. It seems now that Europe is aware of the challenge. The European Commission has blocked €7.5bn in cohesion funds to Hungary, while the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs has requested an investigation into the conduct of Commissioner Varhelyi for “deliberately seeking to circumvent and undermine the centrality of the rule of law reforms in EU accession countries.” Does this signal the end of the authoritarian and oligarchic “blat” in Europe? Anything is still possible.

[thoughtlessarse]

The ruling Georgian Dream party has entered a time warp. For the government, it’s 1984, not 2024. Party leaders are embracing the concept of doublethink concerning Georgia’s European Union accession bid: they say they favor accession to the European Union, but their actions aim to purge EU values from the country. Doublethink in George Orwell’s masterpiece is defined as the ability to believe two contradictory concepts are valid and achievable simultaneously. The former prime minister and the current chairman of GD, Irakli Garibashvili, spoke in doublethink on April 20, telling reporters that EU membership for Georgia was still a goal, while adding that “today, we are not ready to become a [European Union] member country.” The best indicator of GD’s intentions for the country is the reintroduction of draft legislation, dubbed the foreign agents bill. If adopted as currently written, the bill would muzzle Georgia’s vibrant non-profit sector and independent media outlets, drastically curtailing watchdog activities to hold the government accountable for its actions. It runs counter to Georgia’s constitutionally enshrined goal of joining the EU, and it directly contradicts Brussels’ reform requirements to keep Georgia’s candidacy on track. The legislation’s reintroduction at this point is nothing short of deliberate sabotage. By alienating the EU for domestic political purposes, GD is pivoting away from the West and drifting back into Russia’s geopolitical orbit. Senior Russian officials, including the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had lauded GD’s reintroduction of the foreign agents bill.

continue reading

[head-post]

Georgia’s PM resigned ahead of parliamentary elections

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili submitted his resignation on Monday (January 29), claiming he wanted to give a new candidate time to prepare for parliamentary elections scheduled for October.

Garibashvili stated that he had been offered to lead the ruling Georgian Dream party, a decision to be discussed at the party’s congress on Thursday. Local media reported that Irakli Kobakhidze, the current party leader, would succeed Garibashvili as prime minister.

Opinion polls show Georgian Dream is the country’s most popular party but has lost support since 2020, when it won a slim majority in parliament.

Read more HERE

[cyberbenb]

Media: Ruling Georgian Dream party chair Kobakhidze to take over as Georgian PM

Irakli Kobakhidze, the current chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, will take over as Prime Minister of Georgia, replacing Irakli Garibashvili, the pro-government TV channel Imedi announced on Ja Source : kyivindependent.com/media-rul…

[coochiequeens]

Georgia will shut down its commercial surrogacy industry in 2024

Michael Cook

September 14, 2023

The war in Ukraine is changing the geography of commercial surrogacy. Before the war, Ukraine was the surrogacy capital of Europe, with good medical care, loose regulation, and an abundant supply of poor young women. Surrogacy agencies in Kyiv and elsewhere are still operating, but parents and surrogacy brokers are on the hunt for other countries. Ukrainian surrogates are also travelling to countries like Greece, North Cyprus, and Georgia to be impregnated and gestate their baby. 

Further disruption is expected, as a conservative government in nearby Georgia has announced that it will ban commercial surrogacy from 2024. In June Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili declared that a ban was needed to protect surrogate mothers and children and to prevent human trafficking. He also warned that surrogacy agencies might place babies with gay couples, which is forbidden in Georgia. Altruistic surrogacy will be permitted, but only for Georgians. 

“Foreign citizens have turned this issue into a business, and in recent years, there is no regulation at all regarding this issue”, said Mr Garibashvili. “I do not want to put it harshly, but there are orders made [for children]. This is also happening online, [where] there are too many advertisements, and we think it is very disturbing to leave this issue unregulated”.

An Australian surrogacy consultant, Sam Everingham, told Al-Jazeera that “With Georgia being unable to cope with this increased demand since the outbreak of the war, what that’s meant now is increased pressure on places that have got reliable programmes like Canada and the USA, and increased uptake of programmes in countries which are sort of emerging, such as Argentina, Mexico and even Uganda.”

Armenia is another country in the Caucasus which welcomes surrogacy. According to a feature in the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Armenian surrogates must be aged between 18 and 35, have at least one child of their own and, if married, have the written consent of her husband. She must undergo medical and genetic testing to ensure she is healthy. A surrogate cannot be the egg donor. 

[cartagenapost]

Georgia: Liberación de las regiones ocupadas por Rusia siguen siendo el principal problema del “Estado y la sociedad”

El primer ministro de Georgia recordó que la guerra de Abjasia terminó hace 30 años, el 27 de septiembre de 1993, y afirmó que esta quedó registrada como un acontecimiento dramático en la reciente historia del país. Por: Davit Kachkachishvili – Anadolu El primer ministro de Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili, afirmó que la liberación de las regiones de Abjasia y Osetia del Sur, ocupadas por Rusia desde…

[researchlinks]

"Georgia was not granted EU candidate status for refusing to impose anti-Russian sanctions - Kakha Kaladze

"The government of Georgia is a problem for them, because it does not join the sanctions, does not start a war, does not open a "second front" in the country," said the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream Democratic Georgia party.

In the spring of 2022, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili noted that his country would not impose anti-Russian sanctions based on its national interests."

-

https://t.me/c/1328032498/14584.

Russia gloating Georgia is being tolerant to russias actions

[roma-sera-giornale]

La Nato: “Il modello russo tossico deve essere fermato una volta per tutte”

Facendo il punto con il primo ministro della Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili, il segretario generale della Nato, Jens Stoltenberg usa toni durissimi contro Mosca: “La Nato starà con l’Ucraina finché necessario. Non sappiamo quando finirà la guerra, ma siamo al corrente che l’aggressione russa è un modello tossico che deve essere fermato una volta per tutte. La Georgia e il popolo georgiano lo…