On April 25, Rondeli Foundation, in partnership with the Embassies of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia in Georgia, convened a panel discussion commemorating the 20th anniversary of these seven countries’ accession to NATO. The event commenced with welcome addresses from Ekaterine Metreveli, President of Rondeli Foundation; Teimuraz Janjalia, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia; and Alexander Vinnikov, Head of the NATO Liaison Office.
Participating in the discussion were Ambassador of Bulgaria Vesselin Valkanov, Ambassador of Estonia Riina Kaljurand, Ambassador of Latvia Edite Medne, Ambassador of Lithuania Andrius Kalindra, Ambassador of Romania Razvan Rotundu, Ambassador of Slovakia Matus Busovsky, and Ambassador of Slovenia Matea Prevolshek. Alex Petriashvili, Senior Fellow at the Rondeli Foundation moderated the panel.
During the discussion, the Ambassadors underscored the significance of NATO membership for their respective countries, citing its role in bolstering security and fostering democratic and economic progress. They also expressed solidarity with Georgia and Ukraine in their aspirations to join NATO. Additionally, the conversation delved into the implications of the law of Georgia on transparency of foreign influence, with the Ambassadors cautioning that adopting such a law may impede Georgia’s European integration efforts and pose risks to the nation’s civil society and independent media landscape.
