Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia held a meeting with Mr. Theo Francken, the State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration of the Kingdom of Belgium during his official visit in Georgia.
Parties discussed the increase in dynamics of the asylum seekers in Belgium under the visa free regime with the EU.
Giorgi Gakharia introduced the measures to be implemented by the Government of Georgia to decrease the number of asylum seekers from Georgia as well as addressed the activities that have been carried out already; he expressed the readiness to further deepen the cooperation with the Belgian side on this matter.
Both sides particularly stressed the existing fruitful cooperation between Georgia and Belgium on the readmission of persons residing without authorization, which results in nearly 100% performance by Georgian side on the readmission requests from Belgium.
In Belgium, as in other European countries, the possibility of granting Asylum to a Georgian national is considerably low.. The Kingdom of Belgium has recognized Georgia as a safe country of origin, which decreases the possibilities for Georgians to obtain asylum.
Giorgi Gakharia also discussed with Theo Francken deployment of a police liaison officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia in the capital of Belgium. It is noteworthy that consultations on the deployment of a police liaison officer has been already launched.
