Embassy Team Rediscovers American Consulate in Batumi (October 19)

From left to right: Embassy Interpreter Gigi Tsiklauri, U.S. Ambassador Richard Norland, Embassy Security Officer Grigol Shvelidze, U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Press Attache Jeremy Richart. Foto: State Dept

On Friday, October 19, U.S. Ambassador Richart Norland visited the historic U.S. Consulate building in Batumi.   The Consulate building, officially opened in 1886, was host to U.S. government interests in Georgia until it was moved to Tbilisi in 1915.  The consulate was ultimately closed in 1921 and as U.S. Ambassador Peter Bridges wrote in Georgia and America – Early Contacts “almost seven decades were to pass before American officials were again stationed in Tbilisi, after Georgia declared its independence from the USSR in 1991.”  It was a fantastic trip down memory lane and a great opportunity to remember the long and rich history of U.S. and Georgia relations.  It is a common thread that we share and one that we look forward to continuing far into the future.