Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Gakharia held meeting with the Ambassador of the United States to Georgia – Ian Kelly.
The main topic of the meeting was the existing and future cooperation between the two countries.
At the meeting sides discussed projects of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including border management, fight against organized crime, trafficking, drugs, cybercrime, community-oriented police activities and other important directions which are being implemented with the support of the United States.
Giorgi Gakharia shared his vision to the US Ambassador concerning the development of the agency and familiarized him with the reforms, which are scheduled to be implemented for short and medium-term perspectives. In particular, Minister of Internal Affairs stated that reforms will be held in three major directions: Patrol Police, Criminal Police and border management. In addition, important activities are planned in other directions, including activities targeting the improvement of qualification of MIA employees and capacity building of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“During the meeting with the US Ambassador, we discussed the structural reforms, which are scheduled to be implemented by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We defined directions, where our cooperation is most important. This is border defence, Patrol Police and structural changes in Criminal Police. These are directions in which our American colleagues made a promise to provide assistance and share their experience. We plan to further develop the cooperation. Embassy of the United States to Georgia is one of the main partners for the Ministry,”- stated Minister Gakharia.
At the meeting, the Minister of Internal Affairs emphasized the importance of the support of the US government in terms of implementation of the mentioned reforms and ensuring security in the country.
Ambassador of the United States to Georgia noted that United States continues to support the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the process of reforming the system and welcomes the initiatives scheduled by the Ministry.
“We assured Minister Gakharia that our cooperation has been very successful and we look forward, under his leadership, to even expanding our cooperation. It’s in our joint interests that this Ministry operates effectively and answers the requirements of the Georgian people to the greatest extent possible. So, I look forward to continuing this cooperation with the Minister,”-stated Ian Kelly.
The meeting was also attended by director of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Michael Mcmahon and political advisor, Ryan Koenig.
