Georgia: The Minister of Environment and Agriculture, Otar Shamugia, met with the Permanent Secretary of the Finnish Ministry of Environment, Yuhan Damski, in Helsinki.
At the meeting held at the Finnish Ministry of Environment, Otar Shamugia and Yuhan Damski discussed current and future cooperation between the two countries on environmental issues and climate change.
Attention was given to the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the National Environment Agency of Georgia and the Finnish Meteorological Institute in the fields of Meteorology, Climate, and Environment, which will contribute to deepening existing cooperation, modernization of meteorological and environmental observation networks and laboratories in Georgia, weather, climate and climate Development of air quality modeling and forecasting systems.
“In Georgia, the environmental direction is one of the main priorities of the state, and increased budget funding has, therefore, impacted concrete results in terms of implementation of international environmental standards, legislative approach and strengthening institutional capabilities.” Georgia has made significant progress in the areas of environmental management, air quality, water resource management, waste management, industrial emissions management, biodiversity protection and climate change combat,” said Otar Shamugia.
Yuhan Damski thanked the minister for his visit to the Republic of Finland and noted that the Georgian government’s reforms to advance the Eurointegration process in the direction of environmental protection are impressive and appreciated.
“We are ready to support you. I am pleased about the cooperation that the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia has started with the Finnish Meteorology Institute. The Finnish Meteorology Institute is one of the most advanced in the world. Our specialists will help Georgia develop modern systems. We are also ready to support Georgia’s reforms in various areas of environmental protection, including promoting green economy development, implementing the principles of circular economy, and others, “said Juhan Damsky.
He also mentioned, “Georgia must commit to becoming a climate-neutral country by 2050, which responds to the EU agenda; of course, we are ready to share our experience with you in this direction.”
Nino Tandilashvili, Ambassador of Emergency and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden Irakli Khutsurauli, and Vasil Gedvanishvili, Head of the National Environment Agency, attended the meeting at the Ministry of Environment of Finland.
