Severing such an important connection with America is a direct betrayal of the country - it is unacceptable when your government deliberately and persistently destroys and destroys all areas of our success, - Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili writes about this on the social network and responds to the suspension of programs by the US CDC in Georgia.

According to the President, against the background of the increased threat of infectious epidemics in the world, the Georgian government dares and deliberately puts all those laboratories and programs in an extreme situation, without which we remain completely vulnerable.

"The contribution of the Lugar laboratory and American experts, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the safety and security of our citizens cannot be measured. We have nothing but thanks. At a time when the country's demographic indicators are at a catastrophic level, when hundreds of thousands of people are leaving the country, breaking such an important link with America is a direct betrayal of the country. Against the background of the increased threat of infectious epidemics in the world, the Georgian government dares and deliberately puts all those laboratories and programs in an extreme situation, without which we remain completely defenseless in the face of impending pandemics.

It is not only about money, but also about reputational damage, severing decades of professional ties and turning the back on the trust and cooperation established between the two countries.

At the same time, we do not insult a friend, a partner who provided us with free medicines, vaccinations, and equipment in the darkest times and with whose help thousands of our citizens' lives were saved from hepatitis, AIDS, swine flu, Covid.... Here we are also talking about the exchange of knowledge, trainings without which we cannot raise tomorrow's high-level professionals. Isolation is the enemy of science! Because they endanger the recognition gained by Georgia - reliable and equal partnership.

It is unacceptable when your government deliberately and persistently destroys and destroys all areas of our success," the President wrote.

For information, according to the Ministry of Health, there is no talk of closing the Lugari laboratory or the Center for Disease Control, in particular, several ongoing projects, the content of which are research activities and trainings, have been stopped. According to the information of the Minister of Health, Mikheil Sarjveladze, the aid of approximately 2 million GEL from the USA to the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health will be stopped.

The deputy director of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, Paata Imnadze, said that the research projects of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the participation of our young specialists in CDC-funded trainings have been suspended.