Foreign ambassadors to meet with Georgian Interior Minister to discuss ways of ending illegal migration

French ambassador to Georgia says that those Georgians who ask for asylum in France have economic motivation. Photo: 1TV.

Agenda.ge, 22 Jan 2019 - 17:06, Tbilisi,Georgia

French, German, Swiss and Swedish ambassadors to Georgia have announced plans to meet with Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia in the coming days to discuss  ways of decreasing the number of Georgian asylum seekers in their countries.

French ambassador Pascal Meunier says that Georgians are asking for political asylum in France, when “actually they have economic motivations.”

Georgia is on the list of safe countries in France, and nobody who applies for political asylum in France will receive [it]”, Meunier said.

Meunier says that the number of Georgian asylum seekers in France has increased after the enactment of the Georgia-EU visa free deal in March 2017.

In December 2017 we received 1,000 applications from Georgian citizens asking for political asylum, while the figures in previous months were up to 200. We should discuss ways with the Georgian Interior Minister how the problem might be settled,"Meunier said.