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The News in Brief

Friday, July 15
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister met with President Saakashvili in Batumi

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Konstantin Grishenko is paying an official visit to Georgia. The minister was hosted by President Saakashvili at the House of Justice in Batumi yesterday. The sides discussed the topical issues in cooperation in Georgia-Ukraine relations and the prospects of improving these ties.

Within the official visit, Mr. Grishenko will hold meetings with Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri, Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze and the Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II.

Georgian and Ukraine`s foreign ministries will also sign the plan of consultations for 2011-2012 in the frames of the visit. (Rustavi 2)



Incident Prevention Group assembled in Gali

The Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism Group have assembled in Gali district of the breakaway Abkhazia to discuss the recent developments in the occupied territory. The Georgian side reiterated its demand to hand over the suspects of terrorist acts and leave the implementation and organization to the Georgian side. Georgian authorities also presented specific facts of human rights violations beyond the occupied territory's borders, including the obstructions, which the people face during traveling to the Georgian controlled area, most of them seeking medical assistance in Georgian hospitals.

The Russian side denied the existence of human rights violations and said they were only controlling the so-called border and the decisions were usually made adequately. (Rustavi 2)



U.S. Ambassador John Bass Opens International Muskie Alumni Conference

On July 14, in the Beaumonde Garden Hotel, U.S. Ambassador John R. Bass will join Muskie alumni from Georgia and other former Soviet countries to launch the International Muskie Alumni conference: “Experience Sharing among Muskie Alumni: Achievements in Diffusion of Change.”

As Prime News was informed by the US Embassy, the conference, hosted by the Muskie Alumni Association of Georgia and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through its 2011 Alumni Project Competition, will provide a forum for Muskie alumni from former Soviet countries to share their experiences, discuss best practices of past activities, and launch new initiatives for international joint projects.

The conference will highlight the role of the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program in encouraging emerging leaders to support the economic and democratic development of their home countries. Created in 1992 by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Muskie Fellowship Program provides scholarships to outstanding students of former Soviet Union republics to study at master’s level and pursue professional development in the United States for one to two years. The 13 new Georgian Muskie Fellows will leave for the U.S. this August.

IREX currently implements the Muskie program in Georgia on behalf of the United States Department of State. There are over 300 Muskie Fellows in Georgia, including President Mikheil Saakashvili. (Prime-News)



Georgian Nut Factory “Ecopex” To Export Its Production On US Market

The Georgian nut factory “Ecopex” will export its products on the US market.

The company holds negotiations with the American partners in this regard.

The institutional partner of “Ecopex”, GRDF implemented 2 million US Dollar investments in the company, which will help the company in strategic development.

“Ecopex” was founded in 2006, and besides processing nuts the company also has nut gardens in Kakheti and Samegrelo regions.

The European market is the main segment of the company. “Ecopex” exports its production to Germany, Holland, Czech Republic, Poland Estonia, etc.

Herewith, the establishment of the system of food safety was completed in the company. Experienced management consulting company PMCG implemented the move and established the HACCP and the international standard ISO 22000. The project was carried out with the assistance of the regional development fund.

The second stage of certification will start in the near future. (Prime-News)



National Tourism Agency Set In Motion New Project ”Virtual Traveler”

”Virtual Traveler” is a new project being launched by the National Tourism Agency.

According to the agency, social networks have become very popular recently. The majority of consumers get new information via the social networks and therefore they are one of the best marketing tools for the promotion of production and services.

Under the initiative of the Tourism National Agency, a special project ”Virtual Traveler”was prepared, which allows an interested person to virtually pass through all tourist attractions in Georgia.

The project aims for more and more people to visit the web page of the National Tourism Agency as well as its facebook page to receive renewed information on the tourist destinations and tourism opportunities in Georgia.

Game rules are very simple: if a consumer will receive lots of “Likes”, he/she will move faster and reach the destination – Svaneti.

A consumer must like the agency's page before starting the game. (Prime-News)