Diplomacy

"Years ago the South Caucasus was not a political concept. It could be a geographical concept, anything, but not a political region. Maybe we are still not there yet. But definitely today there are opportunities to have the South Caucasus as a real region, and especially a region where processes are based on cooperation and mutual respect. This, at least, is how Georgia sees the South Caucasus and how we aim for this region to be. As independent countries for the last thirty years, we have been looking for this momentum, and Georgia sees it as an opportunity to build truly mutually beneficial cooperation inside our region.. This was stated by Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister, Lasha Darsalia, speaking in Yerevan, at the opening of the 3rd South Caucasus Dialogue Forum, on Friday, 6 November 2026. (click image to read speech in full)

Around sixty participants, including Ambassadors, officials, experts and civil society activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and from the international community, participated in the 3rd South Caucasus Dialogue Forum, held in hybrid form in Yerevan, and on line, on Friday, 6 November 2026... The keynote speaker was the Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia, Lasha Darsalia. The European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Ambassador Magdalena Grono, also addressed the forum. Dr Benyamin Poghosyan, Dr Vasif Huseynov, Dr Tornike Sharashenidze, Dr Anar Valiyev and Mr Narek Minasian made substantial interventions in the panel presentations, addressing some of the topics currently facing the region, and answered questions. The meeting was opened by Dr Stepan Grigoryan, Chairman of the Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (Yerevan), and Dr Dennis Sammut, Director of LINKS Europe Foundation, the co-organisers of the 3rd Forum, made opening remarks in the event chaired by Alexandra Dumitrescu. The 3rd Forum built on the success of the 1st Forum held in Kachreti in August 2023, and in Tbilisi, in October 2025, and some of those attending these two events were also present in the 3rd Forum. Realism, hope, action and vision characterised the discussion and the mood of participants in the 3rd South Caucasus Regional Dialogue Forum. The forum will continue in Tbilisi in early 2027.