Israel lifts visa regime for Georgia

Georgian citizens will soon be able to go to Israel without a visa.

The agreement was adopted today although it will be several days before it is fully implemented.

The two countries signed the visa free agreement in November last year but Israeli legislative bodies still needed to ratify it.

Today, the Israeli Interior Minister phoned Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili while the latter was leading a Government meeting in Tbilisi, and notified him that Israel had made a political decision not to wait for procedures and sign the document immediately.

Under the agreement, any Georgian citizen who holds a local passport can visit Israel and stay there for up to 90 days without a visa, Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze said today after the Government meeting.

However, she added the Israeli Foreign Minister was currently on strike so the country could not officially provide the Georgian Ministry with all necessary information.

Panjikidze said in several days the Ministry would make an additional statement describing all the procedural details, after which any Georgian citizen will be able to visit Israel without a visa.

With Israel, Georgia had already unilaterally abolished a visa regime.