MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Within the framework of the event dedicated to the World Tourism Day, a thematic panel "Building Bridges Through Tourism" was held. Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Mariam Kvrivishvili participated in the panel discussion addressing the question about the role of tourism in the process of establishing peace.

"Each of us in Georgia knows very well the price of freedom and peace - we can tell you that part of our country's territory is still occupied by Russia," – Mariam Kvrivishvili stated and added that in the last 12 years, Georgia has ensured peace and steady development, which is a great achievement itself, and at the same time, the existing stability gave the small and medium-sized businesses an opportunity to further develop, increase, and create new jobs.

As the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development noted, it is very important that every guest who comes to Georgia feels at home.

"We understand that everything starts with peace and stability, everything else is based on that. However, of course, citizens should be free. We are a democratic country, so it is very important that everyone has freedom of expression and speech. Our respected guests saw how our indigenous city is structured. You can see that there is a synagogue next to the Christian church and there is a mosque nearby. I think this is a very good picture of how Georgia has developed over the centuries. We unite people of different nationalities and beliefs, which makes Georgia something like a connecting bridge between Europe and Asia," – Mariam Kvrivishvili said.