Tbilisi, Georgia:Â Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili spoke at the conference: “Dangerous Alcohol Trade: Fight against Illegal Trade of Counterfeit Alcohol Products”, which was attended by representatives of Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey besides Georgia.
The participants were welcomed by the United States Emergency and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Georgia Robin L. Danigan and Deputy Attorney General Natia Merebashvili. During her speech, Lasha Khutsishvili thanked the United States Department of Justice and State, and the US Embassy in Georgia for organizing this event in Tbilisi.
The Minister of Finance stressed the importance of effective combat against trade in counterfeit alcoholic products between countries and the work of the Ministry of Finance’s administration in this regard.
According to Lasha Khutsishvili, employees of the Ministry of Finance are involved in various programs related to this topic.
Notable are the events organized by the European Union as well as the United States Trade Law Development Program (CLDP). Also, Europol joint operations related to the fight against the smuggling of alcoholic beverages.
The Finance Minister expressed hope that the conference would be another step forward in strengthening cooperation.
H.E. Lasha Khutsishvili, Minister of Finance of Georgia addressed a conference on the Hazardous Spirit Trade: Fight Against Illegal Trade of Counterfeit Alcoholic Beverages, which was attended by Armenian, Kazakh, and Turkish law-enforcement officers apart from the Georgian professionals.
Participants of the event were also greeted by Robin L. Dunnigan, U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Georgia, and Natia Merebashvili, Deputy Prosecutor General of Georgia.
In his keynote speech, Lasha Khutsishvili expressed gratitude to the US Department of Justice and Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs within the US Department of State for organizing the conference in Tbilisi.
The Minister of Finance of Georgia highlighted the significance of an effective fight against the illegal trade of counterfeited alcoholic beverages and the performance of the agencies subordinated to the Ministry of Finance of Georgia.
According to Lasha Khutsishvili, MOF staff are eagerly engaged in various programs related to the topic. It is worth noting that events are held by the EU and USA, namely by the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) inter alia towards this end. Engagement is proactive in the joint operations of Europol, also relating to the fight against counterfeit alcoholic beverages.
The Minister of Finance of Georgia expressed optimism that this conference will be yet another step forward to solidifying cooperation between the countries.
