PM: It’s our duty to fund the return of our dead compatriots to Georgia

Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili believes it is morally correct for the Government to cover the cost of transporting the bodies of Georgians who die abroad back to their homeland.

Kvirikashvili thanked the Minister of Georgia for Diaspora Issues Gela Dumbadze for raising the issue and he tasked Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs to be responsible for ensuring the bodies of Georgian citizens return home in a timely manner after their deaths abroad.

The PM said there were a number of cases when the return of a body took several months as the victims’ families could not pay to bring the body home themselves.

The state is obliged to care about its citizens and situations like this must not happen again,” Kvirikashvili said.

The PM added there were occasions when families of a person who died while abroad addressed the Government to help with transportation costs, but he noted discussing such issues within the Government took time.

Now, thanks to these changes, the Foreign Ministry will assist families to bring their deceased loved ones home quickly without any lengthy discussions at Governmental meetings.