IMF managing director thanks PM Garibashvili for 'safe and swift' evacuation of fund personnel from Afghanistan
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva has sent a thank you letter to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. Photo: Georgieva/Facebook.
Tweet 
Share
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva has sent a letter to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in which she offers 'deepest gratitude' on behalf of the IMF and its staff for Georgia's assistance in the 'safe and swift' evacuation of fund personnel and their families from Afghanistan.
By receiving our staff and providing them with shelter and safe haven in Tbilisi, Georgia went above and beyond in difficult circumstances to help our people. Make no mistake: these efforts were absolutely critical to this successful evacuation", wrote Georgieva.
Georgia has accepted the request of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the International Republican Institute (IRI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the IMF and the World Bank (WB) to assist in evacuating their staff and allow their temporary presence on Georgian territory.
The Georgian government says that a regional transit hub has been set up at Tbilisi International Airport and at the Georgian Defence Forces military base near the airport with the participation of Georgian, Norwegian and Swedish servicemen, as well as military and civilian personnel from several NATO member states.
Tbilisi International Airport is being used as a way station by evacuation flights of the NATO Military Transportation Organisation, which is running daily flights to Kabul and back, the Georgian government reports.
The Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital on August 15.
860 Georgian soldiers will start leaving Afghanistan in May as the US and NATO will begin withdrawing their troops from the country after two decades of war.NATO allies agreed on Wednesday, according to US plans, to start removing troops by May 1.The pull-out is to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US by jihadist organization al-Qaida.
In the latest round of peacekeeping duties for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, the 32nd Infantry Battalion of the Georgian Defence Forces left Tbilisi on Wednesday to relieve their colleagues in Bagram.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani stated earlier today that Russian agencies are distributing disinformation in claiming that Georgia is taking in Afghan refugees, amid the country’s involvement in the evacuation process from Afghanistan.
Tbilisi International Airport is being used as a way station by evacuation flights of the NATO Military Transportation Organisation, which is running daily flights to Kabul and back, the Georgian government reports. "From Tbilisi, passengers evacuated from Kabul are being transported abroad via various charter flights. Up to 2,000 individuals have been evacuated so far via Georgian territory,” said the statement.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry and the administration of the government of Georgia are working in coordination to ensure the safe return of several Georgian citizens who are now in Afghanistan, after the Taliban seized control of Kabul yesterday and crowds are trying to flee the country. The Georgian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that the Georgian citizens, who were contract employees in Afghanistan, contacted them yesterday and ‘we have instantly begun taking actions to help them.’
Georgian President Salome Zurabshvili 'strongly condemns' the terrorist attack outside Kabul's airport in Afghanistan, where 13 US service members and at least 60 Afghans have been killed. Two bombing attacks took place in Kabul yesterday, reports the Pentagon and Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health.
Georgia has sent drinking water supplies for people who are at the airport of Kabul in Afghanistan as humanitarian aid, announces the government of Georgia. Deputy Head of the Administration of the Government of Georgia Revaz Javelidze said that Georgia stands by its international partners and is involved in both humanitarian and evacuation processes.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzel thanks Georgia for its support to the evacuation from Kabul, Afghanistan, 'which allowed European Union member states to swiftly and safely transit and transfer via Tbilisi airport'.