Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia participated in “Open Government Partnership” (OGP) European Regional Conference. Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili delivered an opening speech at the conference. The delegates were greeted by Minister of Justice Thea Tsulukiani, Chairman of Parliament of Georgia Davit Usuphashvili, Chairperson of Supreme Court of Georgia Nino Gvenetadze, Secretary of State for Government Reform and Simplification Thierry Mandon and other high rank guests from foreign countries. Among the attendees of the Conference was Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Archil Talakvadze. The event brought together members of Government as well as more than 30 representatives from “OGP” member countries including members of “OGP” Steering Committee.
“OGP” is a platform where delegates can share their success and challenges rin the field of achieving open governance in their home countries. The two-day conference is taking place in exhibition Center “Expo-Georgia” and serves the abovementioned purpose.
It’s worth noting, that last 2 years of participation in OGP, Georgia was a significant success. Through active cooperation with civil society the “OGP” National Agenda 2014-2015 was elaborated. According to the abovementioned Agenda, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia took the responsibility to implement 5 projects, 4 of which are already accomplished. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Archil Talakvadze introduced the Prime Minister and other guests to projects implemented in the framework of National Agenda: in particular, the official web page of MIA now became available for people with disabilities as well as new online consultation mechanisms were introduced. The web page now offers e-catalogues of documents preserved in the MIA Archive. Alternative and innovative means for making “112” easily accesible have been elaborated, in order to give any person, including people with disabilities, an opportunity to reach “112”. The Center is accessible through various alternative means including: people with hearing disabilities are able to contact 112 in emergency situations by means of SMS or video call (sign language), GPS Tracker which makes it possible to send emergency signal even though a person is out of the coverage area of the mobile operators. The 5th project of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Interactive Statistics and Crime Mapping are being elaborated and will be introduced in the nearest future. The Ministry held presentation on the projects in the framework of the Conference.
It’s notable, that Georgia is the first country in Eastern Europe to host such a high-level forum. OGP Conference host title was gained among 65 states through achieved success in terms of commitments in Open and transparent government.
The OGP is a multilateral initiative founded by the initiative of President of the United States and Brazil, in 2011 joined by Georgia in the same year. At this moment 65 states take part in this initiative. Their common goal is to ensure governments’ transparency, accountability and active involvement of civil sector.
Georgia was elected as an OGP Steering Committee member in 2013, due to success achieved and demonstrated progress it has made in developing an open and transparent government. Minister of Justice of Gerorgia Thea Tsulukiani represents Georgia in the Executive Committee.
