Georgia: At a forum dedicated to Diaspora Day, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili, stated that the Georgian Government would uplift “all artificial barriers’ to allow representatives of the Georgian Diaspora to receive passports easily.
Garibashvili told the Forum the Ministry of Justice of Georgia had begun working on a bill to ease the granting of Georgian passports to members of Diaspora abroad, with the legislative amendment to be submitted to the Parliament in September.
The PM stated that there are several “small unresolved issues” that, if resolved, would “greatly simplify” the passport process for the Diaspora.
Garibashvili also mentioned the possibility of diaspora members getting Georgian passports for the same price as those required in Georgia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organised the Forum, which included thematic talks on education, culture, economic development, and digital diplomacy. Minister Ilia Darchiashvili launched the official section of the event.
President Salome Zourabichvili, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, and Beka Odisharia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Diaspora and Caucasus Affairs, were among those who spoke at the event. A message from the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church to the Diaspora was also read to those in attendance.
The Diaspora Forum is held every year with the goal of deepening cooperation with compatriots living abroad, assuring their connection to the homeland, their active participation in the country’s rebuilding process, and finding solutions to the Diaspora’s problems, according to the Government’s press office.
