The News in Brief
Friday, April 12
36 graves to be opened for identification of victims in occupied Abkhazia
Around 35 graves are planned to be opened in Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia region, in order to take DNA samples and identify individuals.
The issue has been discussed at Georgian-Abkhaz Coordinative Mechanism in Istanbul recently, with the members of the central Georgian government and the de facto leadership of Abkhazia.
The meeting was facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“129 graves have been opened so far and 431 remains were exhumed. 163 remains were identified and handed to their families,” Georgian Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili said.
The military conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia started on August 14, 1992, and lasted for 13 months.
During the 1992-93 conflict, tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers lost their lives and about 300,000 people were displaced.
Number of Tourists Up in Georgia by 5.1% in Three Months
Tourism in Georgia is an increasingly important component of the country's economy.
The Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA), Mariam Kvrivishvili summarized the existing statistics of the tourism sector in accordance with I quarter data of 2019.
During the three months of 2019, 1,617,548 international travelers visited Georgia, compared to the same period of the previous year + 2.2%.
A particular increase was observed from the following countries: Israel + 114.6%, China + 59.3%, Saudi Arabia + 52.8% and others.
A positive trend was maintained by visitors from the European Union (EU), including Latvia, Slovakia, Poland, etc.
According to preliminary data, income from international travel in January-February 2019 is 334 million dollars (growth + 4.8%), which is 15 million more than the same year.
"It is important that we have shared the detailed information about who arrived in Georgia and what countries they visit. We have made special emphasis on the tourists from the countries that are distinguished by high-performance in Georgia. The first quarter of 2019 show quite positive growth rate with all criteria as international travelers, as well as visitors and tourist flows," said Mariam Kvrivishvili.
(By Mariam Chanishvili)
Around 35 graves are planned to be opened in Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia region, in order to take DNA samples and identify individuals.
The issue has been discussed at Georgian-Abkhaz Coordinative Mechanism in Istanbul recently, with the members of the central Georgian government and the de facto leadership of Abkhazia.
The meeting was facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“129 graves have been opened so far and 431 remains were exhumed. 163 remains were identified and handed to their families,” Georgian Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili said.
The military conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia started on August 14, 1992, and lasted for 13 months.
During the 1992-93 conflict, tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers lost their lives and about 300,000 people were displaced.
Number of Tourists Up in Georgia by 5.1% in Three Months
Tourism in Georgia is an increasingly important component of the country's economy.
The Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA), Mariam Kvrivishvili summarized the existing statistics of the tourism sector in accordance with I quarter data of 2019.
During the three months of 2019, 1,617,548 international travelers visited Georgia, compared to the same period of the previous year + 2.2%.
A particular increase was observed from the following countries: Israel + 114.6%, China + 59.3%, Saudi Arabia + 52.8% and others.
A positive trend was maintained by visitors from the European Union (EU), including Latvia, Slovakia, Poland, etc.
According to preliminary data, income from international travel in January-February 2019 is 334 million dollars (growth + 4.8%), which is 15 million more than the same year.
"It is important that we have shared the detailed information about who arrived in Georgia and what countries they visit. We have made special emphasis on the tourists from the countries that are distinguished by high-performance in Georgia. The first quarter of 2019 show quite positive growth rate with all criteria as international travelers, as well as visitors and tourist flows," said Mariam Kvrivishvili.
(By Mariam Chanishvili)