The News in Brief
Friday, September 21
Georgia in U.S. State Department Terrorism Report
On September 19, the U.S. Department of State released its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, assessing the 2017 global counterterrorism landscape for the U.S. Congress.
The document refers to Georgia as “a longstanding member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” which “continued its strong engagement with the United States across a range of counterterrorism-related issues.” It also highlights that Georgia “participated in numerous bilateral exercises and remained a solid U.S. security partner.”
“Overall, the Georgian government is generally capable of detecting, deterring, and responding to terrorist incidents,” the report says, adding that the State Security Service(SSS), which has the lead in handling terrorism-related incidents, “is generally well equipped and well trained.”
The report also states that “Georgia continued to enhance its counterterrorism legislation in 2017,” and introduced laws “with a view to reform and increase management oversight of covert investigative operations and the use of electronic surveillance.”
The country is “actively engaged” on counterterrorism issues at international, regional, and bilateral levels, including with NATO, European Union, Europol, and a number of European countries.
According to the report, the U.S.-Georgia agreement on bilateral intelligence sharing, signed in May 2017, “will strengthen counterterrorism cooperation and enhance the Georgian military interoperability with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states.” (Civil.ge)
PM Mamuka Bakhtadze meets with Senator Roger Wicker
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze met with Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, Senator Roger Wicker on Wednesday. The meeting was held within the frameworks of PM's visit to the US.
As the PM's press office told InterPressNews, at the meeting the sides discussed Georgia's ongoing political and economic reforms, the country's institutional development, also the region's security challenges, and Georgia's important role in tackling these challenges. The Prime Minister and the US Senator emphasized prospects of a deeper strategic partnership between the two countries.
Mamuka Bakhtadze thanked the Senator for his contribution to the development of legislative acts in support of Georgia.
Senator Roger Wicker reaffirmed support for Georgia's integration into NATO and commended the country's defense and security efforts. The Senator firmly believes that Georgia's upcoming presidential election will prove to be free and fair. The election will be monitored, among others, by representatives of the Helsinki Commission.
The meeting also emphasized that Georgia-US bilateral relations across a variety of areas will grow stronger and deeper.
The meeting between the Prime Minister and the Senator was held in the US Senate. (IPN)
On September 19, the U.S. Department of State released its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, assessing the 2017 global counterterrorism landscape for the U.S. Congress.
The document refers to Georgia as “a longstanding member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” which “continued its strong engagement with the United States across a range of counterterrorism-related issues.” It also highlights that Georgia “participated in numerous bilateral exercises and remained a solid U.S. security partner.”
“Overall, the Georgian government is generally capable of detecting, deterring, and responding to terrorist incidents,” the report says, adding that the State Security Service(SSS), which has the lead in handling terrorism-related incidents, “is generally well equipped and well trained.”
The report also states that “Georgia continued to enhance its counterterrorism legislation in 2017,” and introduced laws “with a view to reform and increase management oversight of covert investigative operations and the use of electronic surveillance.”
The country is “actively engaged” on counterterrorism issues at international, regional, and bilateral levels, including with NATO, European Union, Europol, and a number of European countries.
According to the report, the U.S.-Georgia agreement on bilateral intelligence sharing, signed in May 2017, “will strengthen counterterrorism cooperation and enhance the Georgian military interoperability with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states.” (Civil.ge)
PM Mamuka Bakhtadze meets with Senator Roger Wicker
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze met with Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, Senator Roger Wicker on Wednesday. The meeting was held within the frameworks of PM's visit to the US.
As the PM's press office told InterPressNews, at the meeting the sides discussed Georgia's ongoing political and economic reforms, the country's institutional development, also the region's security challenges, and Georgia's important role in tackling these challenges. The Prime Minister and the US Senator emphasized prospects of a deeper strategic partnership between the two countries.
Mamuka Bakhtadze thanked the Senator for his contribution to the development of legislative acts in support of Georgia.
Senator Roger Wicker reaffirmed support for Georgia's integration into NATO and commended the country's defense and security efforts. The Senator firmly believes that Georgia's upcoming presidential election will prove to be free and fair. The election will be monitored, among others, by representatives of the Helsinki Commission.
The meeting also emphasized that Georgia-US bilateral relations across a variety of areas will grow stronger and deeper.
The meeting between the Prime Minister and the Senator was held in the US Senate. (IPN)