The News in Brief
Friday, February 9, 2024
Prepared by Messenger Staff
Kobakhidze Highlights Urgent Need for Environmental Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction
During the presentation of the government program in parliament, newly appointed Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, emphasized that the recent natural disaster in western Georgia highlights the crucial need to reduce the risk of such events.
"The natural disaster that occurred in Western Georgia in the past few days has once again reminded us of the high priority of environmental protection and the reduction of natural disaster risks in the face of global climate change.
For this purpose, the government will ensure the harmonization of environmental standards with European requirements, improve early warning systems for multiple threats, and expand monitoring and assessment systems for atmospheric air and water quality, the efficiency of environmental assessment procedures will increase, and regulation of industrial emissions will be aligned with EU processes," Kobakhidze said.
Georgian Citizen Illegally Detained by Russian Occupation Forces Released
Based on information from the State Security Service, the Georgian citizen who was unlawfully detained by Russian occupation forces and held in Tskhinvali prison has been released.
"In the process of releasing Petre Kalashnikov from illegal imprisonment, both the 'hotline' mechanism operating with the direct involvement of the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia, as well as all the relevant tools at the disposal of the central government, were actively used. The central government of Georgia provided information to international partners on a permanent basis. The issue was raised by the central government of Georgia within the framework of the Geneva International Discussions and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) formats," the statement reads.
Kobakhidze Highlights Urgent Need for Environmental Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction
"The natural disaster that occurred in Western Georgia in the past few days has once again reminded us of the high priority of environmental protection and the reduction of natural disaster risks in the face of global climate change.
For this purpose, the government will ensure the harmonization of environmental standards with European requirements, improve early warning systems for multiple threats, and expand monitoring and assessment systems for atmospheric air and water quality, the efficiency of environmental assessment procedures will increase, and regulation of industrial emissions will be aligned with EU processes," Kobakhidze said.
Georgian Citizen Illegally Detained by Russian Occupation Forces Released
"In the process of releasing Petre Kalashnikov from illegal imprisonment, both the 'hotline' mechanism operating with the direct involvement of the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia, as well as all the relevant tools at the disposal of the central government, were actively used. The central government of Georgia provided information to international partners on a permanent basis. The issue was raised by the central government of Georgia within the framework of the Geneva International Discussions and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) formats," the statement reads.