Georgian PM says MPs made “correct decision” by literally translating, introducing law modelled after US FARA

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday supported the recent decision by MPs to introduce a law modelled after the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act, stating that it was ensuring greater transparency of foreign funding.

Kobakhidze criticised the former United States Ambassador Kelly Degnan, accusing her of spreading disinformation about the differences between American and Georgian laws, and emphasised that the newly introduced legislation was based on the American model and aimed to ensure transparency in foreign-funded activities within the country.

“Although I am not particularly fond of the American FARA law, I really liked the idea of introducing this bill for one simple reason. You remember the blatant lie spread by the former US Ambassador [Kelly Degnan] regarding the transparency law. She claimed that the American law was much softer than the one adopted by the Georgian Parliament, which was an outrageous falsehood. Today, everything has become clear. Based on this, MPs made the absolutely correct decision to literally translate and introduce the American law”, the PM said.

Kobakhidze also highlighted the significance of the legislation in the current political climate, stating “now, we just have to wait and see how things unfold. Of course, this law is much stricter than the one previously passed by the Parliament. However, in the end, the truth will prevail, and effective mechanisms will be implemented to ensure transparency of foreign funding in Georgia”.

He further suggested that this legislation was particularly relevant in the current geopolitical context, as he claimed that United States Government agencies openly acknowledged the political objectives behind foreign funding.

“This issue has become even more relevant today, as the current United States administration openly acknowledges the criminal objectives served by the funding of USAID, NED, and other similar organisations. Given this, the importance of this law has grown even further, and Parliament must adopt the necessary legislation”, Kobakhidze concluded.