Georgian Parliament Speaker blames past US funding for lack of American interest in Anaklia Port

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday responded to recent remarks by US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who called the potential transfer of the Anaklia Port project to a Chinese company a “major disappointment.”

In his remarks over the matter, Papuashvili noted that if the previous US administration had not spent taxpayers’ money on revolution attempts in Georgia and had instead focused on supporting such initiatives, American investors might have shown interest in the Anaklia port.

The Speaker highlighted that an open international tender for the Anaklia deep sea port was held a year ago, but no American companies participated in it.

“The construction of the Anaklia deep-sea port is a matter of national interest for Georgia. An open international tender for the project was held one year ago, and no American companies participated”, he said.

“If the Democratic administration, under the previous US Government, had not spent taxpayer money on revolution attempts in Georgia and had instead concentrated on supporting projects like this, perhaps an American investor would have become interested in the Anaklia port”, the Speaker concluded.