Since the day of independence, a strong new emigration has emerged and Georgia has involuntarily become a country of emigration. We still do not fully understand what it means, what is the responsibility and what is the potential when one-fourth of our population - almost one and a half million people study, live and work abroad, - said the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili in a video address at the Diaspora Forum in Tbilisi.

According to her, the Georgian Diaspora has a huge potential for the development of the country. Therefore, the President believes that they should have the right to take a more active part in Georgia's democratic processes. According to Zurabishvili, the diaspora should gain its own voice and the right to represent its own interests in the Parliament of Georgia or have representation in some form.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate you all on our Independence Day, May 26. This year marks 100 years since the 1921 occupation forced the first political emigration to leave the country. I too, like many of our compatriots who are listening to us today, was born into emigration. For political emigration, emigration was a form of continuing the struggle for independence and freedom. This struggle ended with the restoration of independence 30 years ago and today with the symbolic return of General Kvinitadze to his homeland. Since the day of independence, a strong new emigration has emerged and Georgia has involuntarily become a country of emigration. We still do not fully understand what it means, what is the responsibility and what is the potential when one-fourth of our population - almost one and a half million people study, live and work abroad. Until now, we knew that Georgians would not leave their homeland if it was not by force, persecution or deportation. Today, our emigration has spread all over the world. This leads to big changes even in the structure and traditions of Georgian families, when almost a certain number of family members live abroad, when many young people grow up without a mother, because she was forced to start work abroad. It also causes a change in our worldview - the outside world, which for the most part was unknown and inaccessible, has approached us and became close to us today. Scattered Georgians around the world work in all sectors of society, be academics and students, singers and composers, writers and artists, police officers, politicians, farmers, businessmen or workers. They are the ambassadors of our country. They also represent a huge potential for the development of the country.

We must give the members of our diaspora the right to take a more active part in the democratic process in Georgia, for which they need our support.

Our Diaspora needs political representation. On Diaspora Day, I call on the entire Georgian society to unite around this idea, so that our Diaspora can gain its own voice and the right to represent its own interests in parliament, or have representation in some form. Involving more than a million of our citizens in state-building should be a priority. This is necessary because the decisions of the legislative body directly affect the lives of our compatriots abroad, from property rights to the Law on Citizenship", - said Salome Zurabishvili.