Georgian Parliament Speaker: using international institutions for narrow political interests harms stability

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday addressed the 67th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), noting that the Parliamentary Assembly has always been an important regional pillar of interparliamentary cooperation, and today its role is more relevant than ever.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that the Black Sea region is at a critical juncture, with ongoing geopolitical developments, growing economic uncertainty, and technological transformation reshaping both the region and the broader international order.

“In circumstances where global organisations are failing to ensure peace, cooperation and stability, regional formats such as PABSEC have a unique opportunity to unite us around our shared pragmatic interests, which our parliaments represent on behalf of our peoples”, he said.

The Speaker highlighted that parliamentary assemblies are particularly responsive to the political preferences of their citizens and are therefore better informed about the priorities defined by the public.

“We value each other’s peace and security far more than external actors do, especially amid the significant geopolitical upheaval triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, which has directly affected the entire Black Sea region, turning it into one of the world’s most important geopolitical focal points”, he said.

“Even in these challenging circumstances, geopolitics should serve the economic interests of our peoples - not the other way around. Accordingly, PABSEC must maintain a clear focus on promoting economic cooperation, trade and connectivity - in other words, the well-being of our people. The visionary founders of BSEC, and subsequently PABSEC, deliberately made ‘economic’ cooperation the cornerstone of our organisation’s mission, as reflected in its very name”, the Speaker continued.

Papuashvili further added that when international actors use international organisations as instruments of their narrow political interests and place geopolitics above people, they undermine peace, security and stability.

“This is precisely what leads to economic stagnation - the neglect of people’s needs in favour of geopolitical games. Such games also widen the gap between elites and the people, ultimately eroding public support for adventurist leaders and their governments and fuelling radicalisation as a key driver of political polarisation”, he concluded.