Georgian border guards’ day marked today
The Border Police of Georgia is subordinate to the Interior Ministry. Photo: Border Police press office.
Tweet 
Share
Georgia marks border guards’ day today, expressing respect for the individuals who protect the state borders in a very challenging time.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili wished the border guards success and strength in their mission.
The Georgian President tweeted:
Today, we celebrate Georgia's #BorderGuardsDay, celebrating the courageous men and women defending our borders and our country's sovereignty, as we live in a region of enormous challenges. On behalf of the citizens of #Georgia????????, I wish them success and strength in their mission.
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) March 21, 2019
The Georgian Interior Ministry, which manages the border police, says that a genuine reform is being conducted which aims to strengthen protection of land and coastal borders and border aviation.
The Interior Ministry reported that:
- The US gifted Georgia two Island class vessels-Dioskuria and Ochamchire in 2018.
- One border facility was built in 2018 and three others in 2019 with the help of foreign partners.
- Four helicopters of border police have been completely renovated in 2019.
- Georgian coastal guard hosted NATO, Italian, British, US and Turkish vessels in 2018. Joint naval drills were conducted.
- A risk analyse system is being launched based on the model of FRONTEX.
- Georgian border police received equipment worth of about 5 million USD from donor organisations in 2018.
The ministry says that up to 1,400 employees of the border police were re-trained in 2018, 30 of them in NATO-certified schools.
Georgia’s border guards have detained seven people for attempting to cross into Turkey illegally. The Interior Ministry did not reveal the identities of the detainees, but said two were Georgians while four from Bangladesh. One detainee is Uzbekistani.
Russia has released two Georgian border guards who were detained on June 27 at the Russia-Georgia border.
Two border guards who disappeared while on duty are expected to be returned to Georgia by Russia on June 29, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia says.
Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Mgebrishvili and the US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly have opened a new building ات the #7 Border Sector "Sulda” of the second border police division located in eastern Akhaltsikhe region.
The Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri and the Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy to Georgia Elizabeth Rood have opened a new guard building at the Khriani border sector of Akhaltsikhe Regional Division of the land border protection department of the Border Police.
Georgian border guards of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are constructing a small home for Gogia Gigauri, the only resident of the village of Blo, in Georgia’s mountainous Khevsureti region, the ministry reports.