UN environmental conference planned for Georgia

Georgia is set to host top international officials at a major environmental meeting in 2016.

The European Commission of the United Nations (UN) decided Georgia should host the 8^th ministerial conference, named ‘Environment for Europe’ in June 2016, and approached the Georgian side with its intention, said Georgia’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Recourses.

"Georgia will host a high-level ministerial meeting in which official representatives from 56 countries will attend. This is very important for our country,” said Environment Minister Elgudja Khokrishvili.

The ‘Environment for Europe’ event will provide a high-level platform for stakeholders to discuss, decide and join efforts in addressing environmental priorities across the 56 countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region. It is also a regional pillar of sustainable development, said the UNECE’s official website.

At the same time, the process focused on helping countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia and of South-Eastern Europe to improve their environmental standards.

The first ministerial conference took place at Dobris Castle near Prague in 1991, while the last event took place in the Kazakhstan capital Astana in 2011.