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The News in Brief

Monday, February 12
Gudauri Hosts Skiing Competition for Diplomats

Georgia’s mountainous Gudauri resort hosted the skiing competition for the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia to promote the country’s tourism potential.

Niels Scott, UNDP head to Georgia, who participated in the Gudauri DipSki 2018 competition, stated that Georgia has “wonderful opportunities” in tourism and recreational field.

"The United Nations is very pleased that we are here. As you can see, it is a wonderful day and wonderful atmosphere. The representatives of the diplomatic corps and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are competing with each other.

“The tournament is being held for the second time and is a great opportunity to gather and spend this wonderful day together,” Scott said.

DipSki2018 opened to foreign diplomats, various government officials and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries on February 10.

Wife of Swiss Ambassador to Georgia Barbara Kohler and the head of the EU delegation project Peter Danis won the competition from the dip corps’ representation, while Ekaterine Alania from Georgia’s Tourism National Agency and Vasil Kvantaliani from the Foreign Ministry were the first from the Georgian Government.

Georgian Vice Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze spoke before the participants about the government’s key priority to develop the potential of Georgia’s winter and ski resorts.

Janelidze also highlight the Prime Minister’s initiative to bid to host the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championship in 2023 and the 2030 Winter Olympics.

DipSki2018 participants also visited the Adventure Tourism School. The school is situated at the highest altitude in Europe, about 2800 meters above sea level. It provides trainings for those interested in mountain adventure tourism and other high-risk activities. In parallel with the ski competition, the school offered the participants a real-time simulation involving an avalanche-victims-salvation operation.

Ski tournament winners were awarded cups specifically designed for the event.

Launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2017, Diplomatic Ski Competition is likely to become part of the tradition, the Foreign Ministry stated.



Tbilisi City Hall to Bring 100 New Buses

Tbilisi City Hall will bring 100 new buses this year. As Mayor Kakha Kaladze stated, this year's budget allows the city to introduce 100 new, ecologically clean buses.

“The current yellow buses are out of date and in critical condition. We are planning to replace 700 yellow buses with the new ones within 4 years. I think, it will give us an opportunity to make it comfortable to travel by public transport and partially ease the ecological situation,” stated Kaladze.



European Commissioner Says Georgia Deserves EU Membership

“Georgia deserves to be a member of the European family,” Dimitris Avramopoulos, European Commissioner for Migration told Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili in Greece.

The President of Georgia thanked the Commissioner for the contribution that he has personally made in the process of granting visa liberalization to Georgia.

During the meeting, the parties planned and agreed on further coordinated steps.

The Commissioner noted that Georgia successfully follows EU’s recommendations.

"I am glad that I met the President of the country, which is always in my heart, Georgia is making great efforts to strengthen the European perspective. I believe that Georgia is one of the most European countries on the continent that deserves to be a member of the European family," the European Commissioner after the meeting.

Margvelashvili has already completed his official trip to Greece.
(Prepared by Mariam Chanishvili)