The Legal Issues, the Human Rights and Civil Integration, the Defense and Security, and the Procedural Issues and the Rules Committees at the joint sitting discussed the declaration of the vote of confidence in the Government and the Governmental Program “For Building the European State”.

The Committees approved the Governmental Program and the candidates for the Defense Minister, Irakli Chikovani; the candidate for the Justice Minister, Rati Bregadze; the candidate for the State Minister of Reconciliation, Tea Akhvlediani and the candidate for the Interior Minister, Vakhtang Gomelauri who reported to the Committees.

Gomelauri overviewed the recent reforms in the Ministry and introduced further plans. “Our strategic plan envisages further development of the reformed system with the key pillar to be a dignified, modern, and motivated police force,” he stated, adding that the dominant priority of the Ministry is to ensure a safe milieu and curb criminal background in the country.

Bregadze accentuated the projects scheduled by the Ministry, noting that the application of high-tech will cover the legal security part; it is also intended to inculcate artificial intellect and the modification of legal acts. As he noted, the laminated ID cards issued before 2011 shall be replaced free of charge with new e-ID cards. Besides, the role of the notaries in the protection of legal security will be enhanced. “Yet another function of the Ministry is to ensure the legal harmonization with the EU and we have already established a uniform state platform to facilitate the development of applied practice and improvement of the quality and pace of the harmonization process.”

Chikovani stressed that despite the Russian occupation and the hybrid threats, “Georgia has proved to be successfully progressing on the EU and NATO integration path, which is evident by the EU candidate status granted to our country last year.”

“One of our priorities is to enhance the political and practical support with the partners and boost the cooperation with NATO within the bilateral and multilateral formats, as well as with the EU, our key strategic partner – the USA, and other partner states,”- he stated.

As he noted, the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP) is a principal mechanism of cooperation, concluding 17 initiatives, 3 of which have already been successfully accomplished. According to him, Georgia is hosting the Trilateral Defense Ministerial in 2024.

“Cooperation with Azerbaijan and Turkey within the trilateral format constitutes an utmost importance for me and every representative of the defense forces. Last year, the Trilateral Defense Ministerial was held in Azerbaijan, and this year, Georgia is a host country. We enjoy close cooperation with our neighbors – Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey and naturally, the cooperation will continue”.

As he added, the enhancement of the national defense system requires the bolstering of its institutional basics, including through the Defense Code approved by the ruling party. Per the statement of I. Chikovani, the Ministry sets a priority to intensify the reserve service to ensure a motivated and effective reserve force.

Akhvlediani noted that the priority and an enduring task envisages a consistent policy, new approaches and application of effective instruments. Per her elucidation, the vision of the Ministry is based on the principle of the enhancement of peace and stability, and the building of a democratic, equal, and culturally diverse society.

According to her, the number of citizens residing in the occupied regions is increasing year over year, who express their will to enjoy the advantages offered by our country, which facilitates the achievement of our ultimate goal. As she noted, the trust-building initiatives and the realization of the joint projects are of utmost importance. The Ministry keeps facilitating trade relations between the dividing sides within the peace-building initiative “A Step to a Better Future”.

The uniform informative portal that we intend to soon launch will offer a “one-desk” services to our citizens residing in the occupied regions, including healthcare, education, agrarian and other services in a simplified, status-neutral manner. The portal is to serve as a user-oriented, simple and effective roadmap for all persons concerned, including in the Abkhazian and Ossetian languages,” she continued.

After the reports, the candidates answered the questions.