Georgia’s Ambassador Grigol Katamadze has deep ties with Ukraine.
He graduated from the Kyiv Institute of International Relations and previously held many posts with the Georgian Interior Ministry.
In 2009, he was appointed as Georgia’s ambassador in Kyiv.
Grigol Katamadze
2009 – Ambassador of Georgia to Ukraine.
February 2008 – International Development Director of the Bank of Georgia (with residence in Ukraine), BG Bank Supervisory Board Member, Wealth Management Counselor to Chairman of Directors Board.
2007-2008 – Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia.
2000-2007 – Ambassador of Georgia to Ukraine (2001-2005 – Non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova and Romania).
1998-2000 – Deputy Defense Minister of Georgia.
1995-1998 – Minister of the Embassy of Georgia to Ukraine.
1993-1994 – Deputy Director of Foreign Economic Department of Foreign Ministry of Georgia.
1985-1993 – Various positions at the Georgian Interior Ministry and Academy of the Interior Ministry of Georgia.
1985 – Graduated from the Kyiv Institute of International Relations of Kyiv Taras Shevchenko State University, International Law faculty.
In an interview with the Kyiv Post, Katamadze spoke about why Ukraine failed to copy Georgia’s success after the 2003 Rose and 2004 Orange revolutions.
He also shared his views on recent political developments in Georgia and the planned visit of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to participate in the Kyiv Post’s “The Tiger Conference” on Nov. 26-27 at the Fairmont Grand Hotel in Kyiv.
Kyiv Post: Georgian-Ukrainian relations were more active during the presidency of Viktor Yushchenko than under President Viktor Yanukovych. How active are they now?
Grigol Katamadze: Personal relations of leaders always play in favor of bilateral relations.
There were a few presidential meetings during the last two and a half years.
Those weren’t official visits… but the presidents met informally, including in Kyiv.
I will cite the Georgian president, who recently said that ‘Georgian-Ukrainian relations haven’t been more active, than during the last two and a half years since the independence of (both) countries.’
KP: Why did Saakashvili agree to be the keynote speaker at the Kyiv Post conference on Nov. 26-27 and what do you think his message will be?
GK: I think that when the president gave preliminary agreement to participate in the conference, first of all it was due to his great love for your country and his wish to be useful … in solving problems that arise in Ukraine.
It’s hard for me to say what’s the message, in case of the Georgia president’s attendance, will be. But I have no doubt it will be interesting.
KP: What prevented Ukraine from passing necessary free- market and democratic reforms to achieve similar growth as in Georgia?
GK: The political forces that won in the 2003 (Georgian presidential elections) weren’t limited in its actions.
(If) a political decision was made, then it was implemented. Passing reforms without having a common understanding of those reforms by all branches of power is impossible.
From the beginning they (the team of ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko) did not have a majority in parliament. Remember what kind of collision there was between executive and legislative powers, between the president and premier and so on. Therefore under such circumstances it was very hard to pass such painful reforms.
KP: Historically, both Ukraine and Georgia have been in a similar position in relation to their big neighbor Russia. What are the lessons learned that would help the two countries build strategic partner relations with Russia?
GK: I think we lost an important chance in relations with Russia in the beginning, in the mid-90s, to solve the biggest and most important problem which arose after the collapse of the Soviet Union – the territorial problem of Georgia.
And then the problems grew like snowballs. Altogether, I don’t know if we could learn lessons from it. But I understand that it is very hard for such a small country as Georgia (to deal with) Russia, (especially) because Georgia makes steps towards integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.
KP: Considering Georgia’s recent success in various international rankings, why is the popularity of President Saakashvili declining?
GK: One of the reasons why the national movement lost the parliamentary elections, despite achieving certain successes, is because there was a whole range of things that were missed, that could have been more effective.
For instance…if agriculture had been developed actively and more investment had been attracted to this sector, then I think much more people would actually feel the benefits of changes in the country in their own pockets.
Unfortunately that didn’t happen.
Also some of the worst damage to the government’s image was done by broadcasting on Georgian TV channels of what had been happening in the prisons.
KP: What does President Saakashvili plan to do in a year when his second presidential term expires and will Georgia’s foreign policy change depending on who’s going to be the next president?
GK: Georgia’s foreign policy and the people’s decision to integrate into Europe, Euro-Atlantic structures remain the main goal for the country and its new political majority.
It’s hard for me to say what will Mikheil Saakashvili do after the (presidential 2013) elections.
But I’m personally deeply convinced that he will stay in active politics and bring much benefit for the country.
KP: With the new opposition power winning the parliamentary elections, is there a risk for Georgia rolling back to its past realities and what else might potentially change?
GK: I don’t think it will go back to chaos or electricity being provided by hours or minutes. I don’t think it will go back to the past where people stood in lines to get some paper and gave bribes.
With the new power, rhetoric towards the Russian Federation might change – attempts to look for compromises with Russia in order to try resolve the situation in the relations. How far will they get, time will show.
KP: How big is the Georgian community in Ukraine? Are there many Ukrainians living in Georgia?
GK: There are no exact statistics. But I think that there are around 30,000 to 40,000 Georgians who live in Ukraine.
I’ve heard from the Ukrainian diaspora in Georgia that around 60,000 Ukrainians live in Georgia.
It’s one of the biggest ethnic diasporas living in Georgia.
KP: As a Georgian, are you a big fan of wine and what kind do you prefer?
GK: Having tried one time homemade wine, in the village where I was born in western Georgia, not far from Kutaisi, in my grandparent’s house, where my uncle had been making white dry wine Rkatsiteli… (I realize that) you won’t find that kind of wine anywhere (else). I’ll have this taste with me for the rest of my life.
Kyiv Post staff writer Maryna Irkliyenko can be reached at [email protected].
