On September 26, 2025, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Abkhazia, Oleg Bartsits, spoke at the opening of the Federal Educational Marathon "Knowledge. First ones" which opened at the Razhden Gumba Abkhazian State Philharmonic in Sukhum.
President of the Republic of Abkhazia, Badra Gunba, and Minister of Education of the Republic of Abkhazia, Khana Gunba, delivered welcoming speeches.
In his speech, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Abkhazia, Oleg Bartsits, thanked the organizers and participants of the Federal Educational Marathon "Knowledge. First ones" marking the next stage of this format's launch outside the Russian Federation in the Republic of Abkhazia.
He emphasized the profound symbolism of opening such a large-scale event, whose ideas and goals are focused on the future, on a peaceful, dynamically developing, free, and sovereign Abkhazia.
"We are making plans for peace, talking about the most important things: investments in the future, intellectual investments. We are talking about education, the key component of any country's development. These are young people who possess a very significant amount of knowledge. In a modern, dynamic, rapidly developing and changing world, this is the most important thing. If you have knowledge—and I am now addressing our young compatriots and guests—it means you are competitive in this rapidly changing, rapidly growing, and highly competent world," he noted.
Oleg Bartsits spoke about the rich spectrum of mutual cooperation and partnership between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation. In particular, he spoke about interaction in the field of education, emphasizing the long-standing traditions in this area. He noted the mutual enrichment and sharing of experience in the high standards that have developed between the two countries to date.
"Cooperation is underway both through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Abkhazia and through the Abkhazian State University, which has a very rich and profound tradition of interaction with universities in the Russian Federation. Many rducational clusters in the Russian Federation, and we readily accept these proposals from our Russian colleagues, play a crucial role in our cooperation in creating formats such as “Team of Abkhazia” and we eagerly embrace these proposals from our Russian colleagues.
In his speech, Oleg Bartsits focused on an important component of cooperation between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation: military cooperation.
"It is no secret that there is still no agreement between the Republic of Abkhazia and our eastern neighbors on the non-use of military force. The Georgian leadership, with a tenacity worthy of better examples, systematically and repeatedly refuses to sign a legally binding agreement. "The next round of Geneva consultations will take place in November, where we will once again reaffirm our commitment to strict adherence to and the signing of the agreement on the non-use of military force," he said.
He also told about coordinated foreign policy activities with the Russian Federation and the significant support provided by Russian diplomacy.
"The next meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia will take place in the coming days, where we will compare notes and explore new aspects and facets of our joint activities."
The Republic of Abkhazia has become one of the venues for the Federal Educational Marathon "Knowledge. First ones" dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Russia's nuclear industry.
