Georgian Parliament Speaker urges Swiss Embassy to disclose funding transparency

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday called on the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia to publicly disclose information about the recipients and purposes of its financial support, questioning the transparency of foreign funding in the country.

In a social media post, Papuashvili noted that despite repeated public appeals, like some donors, the Swiss Embassy did not disclose who it was funding and for what purpose.

“Another false narrative regarding the American FARA law. I would like to remind the public that despite repeated public appeals, like some donors, the Swiss Embassy does not disclose who it finances and for what purpose. This is when there are facts that foreign money is used to finance hatred, violence and propaganda, which undermines the peaceful development of the Georgian public”, the Speaker said.

Labelling the discussion around foreign funding as “another false narrative regarding the US FARA law”, he reiterated that transparency in foreign aid was essential for democratic integrity and public trust.

“Let's consider this another appeal to the Swiss Embassy - if there is nothing to hide, they should make it transparent to the public who, for what purpose and in what volume is financed with Swiss budget funds. This would be a basic test of conscientious donation”, Papuashvili concluded.