IOM Georgia and the Administration of the State Representative of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Region will cooperate to reintegrate returning migrants. To this end, on May 24, Chief of Mission of IOM Georgia, Mrs. Sanja Celebic Lukovac met with Deputy Governor of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Region, David Kukhaleishvili.

The key goal of the meeting was to introduce IOM activities in Georgia and discuss the future cooperation perspectives to reduce the emigration process, to avoid the possible re-emigration cases and to create a base for sustainable reintegration for Georgian returnees in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region.

During the meeting Chief of Mission of IOM Georgia presented the successful actions done to support the returning migrants’ reintegration process within the “Sustainable Reintegration and Community Revitalization Pilot Initiative in Communities of Return” program funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the International Organization for Migration Development Fund (IDF). In the previous phase of the project 10 Service Hubs in Guria, Kakheti and Imereti municipalities and one in Tbilisi were established, which inform, consult, and refer the returnees and local community members regarding the social-economic programs and services exiting in the region and in the country. Besides this, the project supported the migrants and non-migrant community members 8 joint business initiatives, as well as 6 community revitalization projects operation in the returned migrants living area. Overall, through the project’s support up to GEL 500 000 was spent for the infrastructure and business projects implementation.

Deputy Governor of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Region, David Kukhaleishvili expressed full support and readiness to cooperate with IOM Georgia for moving forward to help the returnees to reintegrate.

During the meeting the parties agreed that in early Fall 2023, the meetings will be organized between IOM Georgia and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region municipalities representatives to discuss the needs and possibilities, how to cooperate in future in the area of Georgian returnees’ reintegration.