Minister Gakharia Visits Germany, Meets Interior Minister
Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia paid a two-day working visit to Germany on May 29-30, where he met with German Federal Interior Minister Host Seehofer, and discussed the two countries’ police cooperation, including in countering illegal migration.
According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, Gakharia informed the German official of the steps the Georgian government had implemented for reducing the number of Georgian asylum seekers to EU member states.
It said the sides hailed the “positive dynamics” in asylum application statistics, with Seehofer underscoring the importance of “fruitful cooperation” of Georgia in readmission of its nationals.
“The statistical figures confirm that the likelihood of Georgian citizens getting a status of asylum seekers in Germany is very low, and the recognition of Georgia as a safe country in near future will be an important step forward to that end,” according to the Georgian Interior Ministry.
Almost an year after Georgia was granted the visa-free travel to the European Union on March 28, 2017, a number of European countries voiced their concerns over the increased number of crimes and asylum seekers from Georgia, triggering doubts that the EU would temporarily suspend the visa-free regime for Georgia.