Kobakhidze Tells UN General Assembly 20% of Georgia Remains Under Russian Occupation

PM Irakli Kobakhidze addressed the UN General Assembly's 81st session, saying sovereignty "can never be taken for granted" and that Georgia remains open to engagement "on the basis of mutual respect and sovereign equality." He said 20% of Georgia remains under Russian occupation with hundreds of thousands displaced, pitched Georgia's Middle Corridor role with $7 billion in planned infrastructure investment through 2032, and cited 9.3% average annual economic growth and poverty falling from 21.3% to 7.1% since 2020. Unlike prior years, he explicitly named Russia over the occupation but notably avoided discussing Russia's war in Ukraine.