Tbilisi: A very important and historic seventh meeting of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on National Anti-Terrorism Strategy and corresponding Action Plan and Monitoring of Implementation was held. It was held under the leadership of the State Security Service. The senior officials of the various departments participated actively.
Grigol Liluashvili, chairman of the commission opened the meeting. The head of the State Security Service, on this occasion, evaluated the counterterrorist situation in the world, the region as well as in the country. He also emphasised the special importance of constant coordination and involvement of member agencies of the Commission in this regard. Moreover, he also stressed the efforts of Georgia to fight against international terrorism and its successful cooperation with international partners.
Grigol Liluashvili specifically stated that “Georgia’s activities in the counterterrorist direction are highlighted in many international publications of various organisations.”
It is to be specifially mentioned that Georgia’s counterterrorist activities have been positively evaluated in the latest report of the US State Department. The document of the US State department also states that Georgia has all the abilities to detect, contain and respond to terrorist incidents, and Georgia is considered a firm partner of the United States.
It should be noted here also that in connection with Georgia getting candidate status for European Union membership, the European Commission has positively assessed Georgia’s capabilities to fight terrorism of all kinds and its cooperation at the international level against terrorism-related activities.
Additionally, Georgia’s successful fight against terrorism has been discussed in various international organizations’ documents besides the US State Department. In an important annual report published by the Institute of Peace and Economy in the year 2023 where, when evaluating the impact of terrorism, Georgia has ranked last, which means that in the context of terrorist challenges, Georgia is a safe country as compared to other countries of the region.
As per the information on the topic of terrorism, the Director of the Information-Analytics Department of the State Security Service, Giorgi Sabedashvili, presented the report-presentation of the implementation of the counterterrorist strategy for the time period of 2022 to 2026 action plan prepared with the active involvement of the commission member agencies.
Commission members further received briefings on the implementation process, activities which have been already implemented, results achieved and challenges in the field of counter-terrorism. Overall, the second year of strategy and action plan implementation was positively assessed by the Commission members, who noted that the next year will be more active and full of important activities.
At the meeting, Bacha Mgeladze, the head of the counterterrorist Center, introduced the participants to the counterterrorist environment in the Republic of Georgia and the actions carried out and planned by the service, including important counterterrorist operations which have been carried out in 2023.
The meeting also became important in that it provided adequate time to discuss among Commission members the next steps of Commission activities, with special attention on strengthening the inter-agency coordination mechanisms of Georgia. During the meeting, the participants presented the future visions of the strategy and action plan that need immediate implementation.
It is worth mentioning that at the end of the meeting, members of the committee and invited guests positively assessed the work of the commission and, as a result of the vote, unanimously and unconditionally received the summary document of the commission meeting. Grigol Liluashvili, at the conclusion of the meeting, also thanked all agencies for the work done to implement the activities planned and implemeted for the year 2023.
