IOM Georgia Chief of Mission, Sanja Celebic Lukovac, together with IBM Senior Programme Manager, Massimo Ramanzin, IBM Programme Officer, Zezva Meskhi and Project Manager, Maja Wiebler, met with the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Aleksandre Darakhvelidze on 21 October. 

Isolation spaces equipped with medical inventory at a total value of 70,000 EUR (GEL 250,000) will further develop abilities of the Georgian Government to ensure passenger safety and adhere to international health regulations.

At the event, hosted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the EU together with project implementer, International Organization for Migration (IOM), have donated pieces of sophisticated equipment to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. These devices will be deployed in the Kutaisi laboratory of the MIA Forensic-Criminalistic Department and will contribute to examination of questioned travel documents discovered in the Kutaisi International Airport. Advanced document inspection devices with a total value of 70,000 EUR (GEL 250,000) will further develop abilities of the Georgian Government to combat irregular migration and enhance border security.

The smuggling of migrants across international borders on routes crossing land, sea and air continues to pose a challenge to migration governance and impedes safe and orderly migration. Migrant smugglers are increasingly becoming a central part of the irregular migration journey, resulting in enormous profits for criminal smuggling networks while reducing the ability of States to manage their borders.

On 21, 23 and 24 September, an official from the Border Guard of Poland met online with 84 border control officers from the MIA Patrol Police Department representing all three international airports (Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi) to discuss visa-free travel from Georgia to Poland.

Under a project funded by US Embassy, on July 26-27 IOM conducted a training about implementation of modern technologies to optimize fight against sexual exploitation.

On 6 and 7 July, IOM joined forces with the EU-funded Prometheus Project to organize a two-day course on curbing irregular migration from Georgia to the European Union.

Two specialized police investigators from France and Spain travelled to Tbilisi to engage with their Georgian colleagues from the Criminal Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office. The two experts shared insights into how police and prosecutors can deal effectively with the operations of organized crime that is behind the facilitation of illegal stay in EU Member States for third-country nationals. The crucial importance of international cooperation to share operational data and collect evidence was emphasized multiple times.

On 16 and 17 June 2021, 11 officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) gathered in Tbilisi to participate in a course on the management of alternative measures to the detention of foreigners, who reside in Georgia on an irregular basis and may be temporarily detained to secure their departure from Georgia.