US country report on terrorism 2020: Georgia capable of detecting, deterring, responding to terrorism incidents

The US Department of State Country Report on Terrorism 2020 says that ‘Georgia is generally capable of detecting, deterring, and responding to terrorism incidents.’ 

The report says that ‘Georgia continued its robust engagement across a range of counterterrorism issues in 2020,’ noting that no terrorist incidents took place in the country in 2020. 

According to the report, Georgia tried and convicted one Georgian citizen on terrorism charges in 2020 for his involvement in ISIS-related activities abroad, and that the country further refined its Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrirism (AML/CFT) laws in 2020 and ‘strengthened its border security infrastructure’. 

Georgia worked in 2020 to update its chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) Threat Reduction Strategy and Action Plan, which reached the interagency approval stage by the end of 2020. The strategy will be approved by a Georgian government resolution, which the prime minister signed,” said the report. 

The report stated that the Georgian Border Police completed infrastructure projects along borders with Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey, ‘all of which will increase year-round patrolling, surveillance, and deterrence capabilities.’ 

Georgia also installed a video surveillance and monitoring system on one sector of its land border with Azerbaijan and added additional vehicles and helicopters to its border patrol fleets. Approximately 350 Georgian border and patrol police received basic counterterrorism tactics training from the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Office of Criminal Investigations,” said the report. 

The report stated that in June and July of 2020 Georgia further refined its AML/CFT laws, including by designating the National Bank of Georgia as the AML/CFT supervisor, mandating that Georgian financial institutions screen against UNSC sanctions lists, and adopting two bylaws related to reporting, 82 recordkeeping, and customer identification.