The First Deputy State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili presented a report before the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration. Addressing the MPs, Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili provided information on the implementation of Visa Liberalization Action Plan on behalf of the State Minister’s Office.
In particular, she introduced new National Concept on Tolerance and Civic Integration and 2015-2020 Action Plan, that were drafted by the State Minister’s Office and further approved by the Government on 17 August.
According to Mrs. Tsikhelashvili, the Government of Georgia carried out serious and coordinated actions for the implementation of the Action Plan.
“We have implemented many important reforms and we expect that the report of the evaluation mission shall be positive, followed by a positive decision by the side of the European Union. The prospect of visa free regime is important for conflict settlement. In this regard, Moldovan experience is quite interesting – whenever the citizens holding the passports of the Republic of Moldova were enabled to travel without visa, the number of those willing to apply for Moldovan passports has considerably increased in Transnistria. I am sure that interest towards Georgian passports will also increase among the residents of occupied regions, in a sense that they can travel in Europe without any visa. This is supposed to open up many possibilities for them in the area of education and elsewhere,” – Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili declared.
Mrs. Tsikhelashvili further noted that the new National Concept on Tolerance and Civic Integration and Action Plan are important for not only civic integration, but conflict settlement as well.
“The new concept and its respective action plan shall define effective policies for national minorities and ensure that the identity for any ethnic group is protected; in the light of the European model Georgia aspires, they can use this at their best,” – the First Deputy State Minister declared.
Mrs. Tsikhelashvili emphasized that the residents of occupied regions will have access to all benefits that are expected from the Association Agreement.
Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili also responded to the questions of the MPs.