Denis Keefe

90 years on

After our usual annual Remembrance Day service in Tbilisi on Sunday, later in the week, on Armistice Day itself I was in Batumi.

This was a very special occasion. It was a very special occasion. For the first time in 90 years we were able to lay wreaths of poppies at the British War Graves there, which had been completely neglected in Soviet times. But the Embassy's Defence Section have been able to find the site again, tidy it up and mark it properly. Just half a dozen people from the Embassy and the small local British Community were there for the short ceremony in bright sunshine. But at a time when British soldiers are doing their duty in such difficult circumstances in Afghanistan, I felt this was the right place for the British Ambassador to be on 11 November.
 
Earlier in the week, I was in Rustavi as the President of Georgia opened a new steelworks. Indian and British investors have worked to create a new plant that will make steel from scrap, and bring new employment to the area. Georgia needs new investment to sustain its economy - even more so as the Global economic crisis takes its toll. It's important for Georgia to be able to offer a good environment for investors, with a transparent tax system, effective courts and predictable decision-making. These are issues my Ambassadorial colleagues and I are regularly discussing with the Georgian Government.
 
Later that day, we launched the work of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) in Parliament. The WFD has a high reputation for helping developing democracies to make progress. I am glad they are now working in Georgia to help strengthen Parliament and the political parties. Along with media freedom, judicial reform and other aspects of Human Rights and Democratisation, these are key areas for Georgia's ability to integrate further with Europe.
 

Posted at 09:27 14 November 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

A Greener embassy

A few days ago we celebrated the Topping Out of our new building. We'll be moving in next year to a striking, modern Embassy designed to be green, energy efficient and pleasant to work in. Two greenhouses on site are already growing the thousands of plants that will cover the ground round the Embassy.  

Sitting high in a valley above central Tbilisi, the Embassy will be a visible reminder of our commitment to Georgia - and to ensuring that the British Government's carbon footprint is as light as possible, everywhere it falls.
 
I learned about a new element in Britain's work in Georgia the other day. One legacy of the Soviet Union was a secret biological institute in Kobuleti, full of scientists with nothing to do. With the help of British scientists, they are now emerging as a key centre for work on plant diseases, particularly in potatoes. They are starting to make a real contribution to Georgia's development and to food security in the region.
 
Security in the region more widely remains a problem. So I was glad recently we were able to work with Georgia and Russia to carry out a joint Open Skies overflight. David Miliband blogged about this the other day Building trust between estranged neighbours is one of the most difficult of Diplomatic tasks - but one of the most crucial.

Posted at 18:25 16 October 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

Three Ambassadors

Last week I met the British Ambassadors to  Azerbaijan  and  Armenia  in Yerevan for a short conference. We do this once a year in one of our capitals, to compare notes on working in the South Caucasus, and to look for ways to deliver our shared objectives, particularly on conflict resolution.
 
One of the things we talked about was the British Council's "Euro skills" projects, which is helping young officials and experts in all three countries to learn the skills they need for working with the European Union. Detailed work like this is does not often make the headlines, but it is an important way of helping Georgia get closer to Europe. We held a  reception  in Tbilisi to launch the project - it was stimulating and enjoyable to meet the young people taking part.
 
The European Union's Monitoring Mission is now entering its second year of work. With colleagues from the Embassy and from London.  I visited Mtskheta to see how their work with IDPs is going, and to see two IDP settlements. There are newly-arrived British Monitors at Mtskheta, as well as in Gori and Zugdidi. We met them over a drink at the Residence not along ago to say thank you to the old hands and welcome the new ones. This is important work that contributes to peace and security in Georgia, and we are proud of our Monitors.

Posted at 18:36 05 October 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

On top of the world

I'm composing this blog post at 3000m in the Caucasus, at Black Cliff Lake, in the corner where Georgia, Azerbaijan and Dagestan meet. Up here, it seems so obvious that the future lies in cooperation across borders to protect the wonderful wilderness all three countries share - but the closed border between Georgia and Russia makes that impossible.
 
I'm travelling with the French Ambassador - a 3 day trip on horse and foot. As we watch a Golden Eagle soar just over our heads, we talk about the future of the environment. Our Foreign Ministers have joined some of their European colleagues in writing a  letter together about the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change. The countries of the world need to work together to deal with this common challenge.

Once more, we have been overwhelmed by Georgian hospitality - whether a supra with friends in Lagodekhi, or meals shared with our guides and with the soldiers at the last, lonely post before the border. Georgians can summon up a feast in the middle of nowhere.

Posted at 14:36 14 September 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

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Posted at 19:19 01 September 2009 by e-Media Global  |  Comments[0]

One Year On

To everyone's relief, the anniversary of the start of last year's August War passed off peacefully. Georgians remembered the victims in a dignified way, and the International Community's swift and clear reaction to exaggerated rhetoric about the situation on the ground around South Ossetia and Abkhazia also helped. The EU Monitors demonstrated their value once more by stepping up patrolling, and providing quick and clear information on events.
 
I visited the area between Gori and Tskhinvali myself, to see HALO Trust's vital work in removing unexploded ordnance left by the war. This is a really important contribution to getting life back to normal, and I'm glad that British volunteers are playing a key role in training the local people doing this difficult work.
 
My children have been here over the summer. We spent a few days in Batumi, enjoying being by the sea as well as exploring the new National Park at Mtirala, and visiting British and Georgian archaeologists at Pichvnari. The bustle and new construction in Batumi is impressive, offering a glimpse of how Georgia can develop in the future.

Posted at 16:50 21 August 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

Old and New

This morning I went to the airport to meet my sons, who are in Georgia for the summer. Two of the girls are already here, and came to be in the audience when I was on Imedi TV's Night Show last week. It was good to be able to talk light-heartedly about our life in Georgia. At work, the issue are often serious, but we enjoy living in Georgia very much.

It's been sad over the last few weeks saying goodbye to UNOMIG and the OSCE - particularly to the British members of the Missions. They did a good job. Without them, we have to work even harder to find ways to resolve the conflicts peacefully.

Foreign Secretary David Milliband has blogged about the approaching anniversary of last year's war with Russia . Last week's incidents on the Administrative Boundary Line with South Ossetia are a reminder of the value of the EU Monitoring Mission, and the importance of all sides taking part in good faith in the Incident Prevention Mechanism agreed in Geneva to deal with problems on the ground.

Posted at 00:01 04 August 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

Welcome to Georgia

A few days ago I was at the Foreign Office in London with colleagues from other Embassies in the region. We were there to drum up interest in working in our Embassies. Colleagues who have been working on, say, China or South America don't necessarily have much idea of what we deal with in Georgia, or what it is like to live here. It was good to be able to describe how beautiful and interesting Georgia is - and to talk about the lively and committed team of Georgian and British staff at the Embassy. Quite a few people came to ask questions. I hope we may have interested some future colleagues.
 
Teamwork was the theme of Glenys Kinnock's visit at the end of June. In a single working day, we managed to talk to a range of politicians, take stock of the state of the conflicts, thank the remaining UK secondees at OSCE at the end of their mission, and get out of Tbilisi to see the EU Monitoring Mission in action and visit IDPs. Achieving this needs the whole Embassy working together smoothly, and a great deal of goodwill and practical help from the many people and organisations we work with in Georgia. I'm grateful to all of them.
 
It's for our partners in Georgia that we have launched a regular newsletter,  find out more about what we do, and why - and the opportunities for becoming involved in our work.

Posted at 13:06 13 July 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

Thinking things over

I'm writing this post from Norway, where I'm attending the Oslo Forum 09. There are experienced mediators and conflict experts from all over the world here, comparing  notes about the latest developments and exchanging experiences of what works - and doesn't work - in resolving conflict. For me, the timing is ideal. After the Russian veto of the UN Security Council Resolution on UNOMIG, and their veto of the OSCE Mission's future, we need to think about the next steps in Georgia. How do we maximise security? How do we improve conditions for those most affected by the conflict? How do we keep alive the possibility of real conflict resolution?

Last week we celebrated the Queen's Birthday Party in Tbilisi. This is an event which all British Embassies hold once a year. This year, we held a smaller party than last year, but it was nevertheless an opportunity to celebrate with people - Georgian, British and international - with whom we work during the year, and to thank them for contributing to our work here.

Sadly some of our guests suffered at the hands of protesters on Rustaveli Avenue. Peaceful protest is a democratic right, but violence is not. For democracy to flourish, the rule of law needs to be upheld. So does the freedom of the media. That is a responsibility that lies on Government, opposition parties and anyone taking part in protests. When crimes are committed - and clearly some have been - they should be investigated and brought to court promptly and even-handedly - whoever was responsible. This is an essential background to the real way forward for any society - a genuine, transparent, inclusive political process based on dialogue and compromise. I hope that Georgian politicians from all sides will find this way forward.

Posted at 14:35 18 June 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

Marching Through Georgia

This morning, for the first time in  7 weeks, we are looking out of the Embassy windows at a square where traffic is flowing normally. The "cages" installed by protesters are gone - though they remain at other sites. This makes it much easier for us to get on with our work, including public services such as issuing visas. What is not clear is whether politicians can find the way through to a dialogue that deals with the issues really concering Georgians. We may risk repeating ourselves, but I believe Diplomats have an important role to play in urging Georgian politicians to find genuine political solutions based on dialogue, compromise and further democratic reform.
 
Last week I had the chance to travel the whole length of Georgia. With a colleague from London, I drove to Sukhumi for meetings with the de facto leadership about talks in New York on a new mandate for the UN, visiting Zugdidi and Gali on the way to take marmalade, cake and teddy bears to the British officers working for UNOMIG. In Tbilisi, we had very useful talks with Georgian Ministers about the UN and a range of other issues, making sure we understood each others' positions fully.
 
Over the following weekend, my wife and I visited the other end of the country, seeing the amazing Vashlovani Protected Area on the Azeri border. We stayed the night in our favourite Hotel Lile in Lagodekhi, where the welcome, the food and the wine are always wonderful. Visiting Vashlovani and Lagodekhi with the expert Rangers  there is an education in itself - we learned a lot about the landscape, history, animals and birds.

Posted at 11:24 01 June 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

Visiting our new Embassy site

Last week everyone at the Embassy visited our new Embassy site. It's reached the stage where people can walk into where their office will be, see the view and start to think about what it will like working there. The gardens are going to be lovely - we had great fun talking to the man who is planning them, as he worked in the greenhouses where plants are already growing.

At the moment, the idea of working out of the centre of Tbilisi is very attractive. The continuing opposition protests have blocked streets round the current Embassy for a month. It's taking everyone longer to get to work; it's difficult for visitors; and the streets are dirty and unpleasant. So everyone was glad when the Government and opposition had their first talks a few days ago. There was no agreement, but inclusive and transparent talks are the right way to solve the political problems and end the disruption of the protests.

Meanwhile, people at the Embassy are wonderful - they are getting on with things in spite of the problems. This week we have a team of Georgian judges in London as part of a project to support judicial reform, and a group of experts from all the parties visiting to learn about Britain's approach to electoral law. These are projects which will help Georgians make a difference in their own country.

Posted at 15:20 20 May 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[0]

Back in Tbilisi

Today I'm making my first post on the FCO's new blog platform. I've been blogging about life as Ambassador in Georgia for a while now, and it's a chance to make my blog easier to read.  I've found that what interests people is both events in Georgia - which is often in the news for reasons good and bad - and the experience of being Ambassador in such a beautiful and fascinating country. So I plan to go on blogging about this, and see how I get on.

Kate and I returned to Georgia a few days ago after an Easter break in the UK with the children. Tbilisi is in a strange mood. The centre of the town is blocked by protests that began on 9 April. Numbers attending have fallen, but the Embassy is on one of the squares affected, and getting to and from work is currently taking longer for all my colleagues. It does mean we have a grandstand view of some events. But for us the real question is, what next? Georgia needs a political system that has well-founded trust and can deliver peaceful change through the ballot box. There's been a lot of progress - it's a real achievement that Tbilisi is able to absorb protests peacefully, seeing them as part of normal democratic life. But it's also clear that the best way forward now is for the various political parties to find a way to start real dialogue about the issues that matter to voters. Isn't why they are in politics?

Tbilisi is twinned with Bristol. While I was in England, I visited the lively Bristol Twinning Association. I went on to Newport, twinned with another historic Georgian city, Kutaisi. These are links based on the friendship, energy and imagination of many individual people in both countries. They do a lot of good, and I find their enthusiasm a great encouragement.

One of my first ports of call when I got back was the new Embassy building site. This is well on track to open next year: a purpose-built, environmentally-friendly building that will provide a modern and pleasant place to work, and be a welcoming and efficient place for our visitors, whether they come for a visa, a meeting or a  reception.

Posted at 13:54 12 May 2009 by Denis Keefe  |  Comments[9]