Germany explores option to grant “safe country” status to Georgia
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"Germany knows well that no one is being politically persecuted in Georgia and we are discussing the possibility to grant Georgia the status of ‘safe country’,” Germany’s Federal Minister of Interior Thomas de Maiziere told his Georgian counterpart today.
The German official stressed there were many dishonest asylum seekers addressing his county and a special, ‘safe country’ status was a tool that could combat against this wrongdoing.
Citizens of foreign states with ‘safe country’ status were not given political asylum in Germany.
On this note, de Maiziere and his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Mgebrishvili signed an implementation protocol on Readmission of Illegal Migrants, which was seen to enhance joint efforts against illegal migration between the two nations.
Maiziere positively assessed the existing, close partnership between Georgian and German police structures and praised the Georgian attaché’s successful cooperation with German’s federal and central criminal police.
Minister Mgebrishvili will come back to Georgia tomorrow after his meetings in France and Germany. Photo by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Georgian Minister, who began his first France-Germany trip on March 30, invited his German counterpart to Georgia.
While abroad Mgebrishvili has met heads and top representatives of France and Germany’s law enforcement bodies.
At all the meetings Mgebrishvili stressed the importance of forging closer relations between Georgian and international police structures.
He also told his foreign colleagues about implemented and ongoing democratic reforms in Georgia, and the Georgian Government’s future plans targeting the country’s faster integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.
Mgebrishvili will return to Georgia tomorrow.
Germany’s Federal Minister of Interior and vice premier of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann, told Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Mgebrishvili that he wished to see closer cooperation between German and Georgian law enforcement agencies.
Georgia’s incumbent Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance has been appointed as the new Interior Minister. The First Deputy Corrections Minister has been promoted to Corrections Minister.
Today the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Giorgi Mgebrishvili represented his three new deputies before public and stressed that the renewed team would support him in the "merciless fight against criminal.”
Giorgi Mgebrishvili stated today that the Ministry of Internal Affairs would be focused on fighting domestic violence and violence against women if he could continue his work as a minister after tomorrow’s voting in the legislative body.
Georgia’s Prime Minister is sending his best wishes and congratulations to all police in Georgia today as the nation marks Police Day.
Georgian and German police forces are forging closer ties to better fight crime and enhance the already strong cooperation between the agencies of the two nations.
Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs, who has returned from an official trip in Germany, has spoken out about the opposition’s allegations of increased crimes in Georgia and called on people to refrain from criticizing or verbally abusing Georgia’s police officers.
Georgia becomes partner of Europol
Today the European Parliament made a "historic decision” for Georgia by confirming Georgia as a partner of Europol, announced Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili.
Georgian Police Academy with the support of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia is developing a distance-learning programme which will be used to train new police recruits.
Georgia’s Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili is familiarizing European experts with the Georgian model of analyses-based police activities, which refers to more efforts for crime prevention and more effective investigations.
Iceland has added Georgia to the list of safe countries.
Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Mgebrishvili and Vice Prime Minister and Public Security Minister of China Guo Shengkun has signed an agreement of cooperation between Georgian and Chinese law enforcers against crime.