Interior Minister hails approval of NATO Operational Partner status for Georgian Border Police as “key achievement” of 2022
Georgian Border Police units received the NATO operational partner status in the Sea Guardian Operation last year. Photo: Border Police press office
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Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Tuesday told the Parliament the granting of the NATO Operational Partner status to the country’s Border Police units had been a “major achievement” of the past year.
In his address for briefing MPs on his office’s work over 2022, Gomelauri noted the units had received the status for the bloc’s Operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean, launched in 2016 to tackle terrorism threats and irregular migration.
Gomelauri also said the “successful accomplishment” of the four-stage evaluation of the Georgian professionals had marked a “new phase of practical cooperation” between the alliance’s Allied Maritime Command and Georgia’s Coast Guard, which operates under the Border Police structure.
NATO describes Sea Guardian as a “flexible operation that can potentially cover the full range of the alliance’s maritime security operation tasks”.
It is conducted in the Mediterranean and covering maritime security capacity-building, support to maritime situational awareness and maritime counter-terrorism.
Georgia’s Border Police has installed electronic alarm systems and obstacle fences at three locations along the border to improve monitoring of the areas of the state boundary, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.
Georgia’s Border Police on Tuesday said it had arrested a group of five individuals for an attempt of illegal crossing of the state border in the country’s south-west.
Georgian Border Police arrested two Azerbaijani citizens and seized a package of heroin they were attempting to smuggle across the state boundary, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Monday.
The European Union and the International Organisation for Migration have donated 30 all-terrain vehicles to the Georgian Border Police to better combat irregular migration and cross-border crime. This is the part of a larger package of 40 vehicles, 10 of which were donated to Georgia back in November 2020.
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Tuesday extended his gratitude to Georgia’s international partners for their support in institutional buildup of the country’s agencies and vowed to continue “active cooperation” in the process.
The number of criminal cases across Georgia decreased over the past year compared to 2021 due to the “effective work” of law enforcement bodies and “constantly improving” legislation, Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said on Tuesday.
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri told the Georgian Parliament on Tuesday his office had ensured arrests of 307 wanted offenders over the past year, including 37 sought through the Interpol Red Notice.
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Tuesday highlighted the Ministry’s efforts in combating crimes committed by minors, domestic violence and violence against women, and its work for protecting the rights of people with special needs.
The implemented and planned infrastructure projects were highlighted by Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Tuesday in his address to the Georgian Parliament, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
The fruitful cooperation between the Georgian and German law enforcement, as well as prospects of future relations, was discussed on Wednesday by Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and his German counterpart Nancy Faeser. Gomelauri thanked the German side for its “continuous support” for developing the Georgian Interior Ministry’s capabilities.
The Georgian Border Police on Wednesday confirmed an incident involving a helicopter of the body in the north of the country, following a social media video earlier during the day that appeared to show the pilot escape a crash in the aircraft on Mount Kazbegi.