Equipment and software with total value of 130,000 EUR (GEL 400,000) will further develop crime-fighting abilities of the Georgian Government.

At an event at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) the EU together with project implementer International Organization for Migration (IOM) have donated advanced border management and crimefighting equipment to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.  This included sophisticated equipment for the in-depth examination of identity and travel documents to the Forensics-Criminalistic Department of the MIA and two comprehensive software packages enabling both the Forensics-Criminalistic and the Central Criminal Police Departments of the MIA to thoroughly investigate instances of cybercrime and retrieve evidence from cyber space that was hitherto difficult to penetrate.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Vincent Rey, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Georgia noted: "This equipment will enable Georgian authorities to more effectively fight irregular migration, and crime, including highly complex forms of cybercrime. It is important in view of visa free travel to the EU , and is part of the EU's wider support to ensure modern and well managed borders in Georgia and the safety and security to Georgians."

These materials are part of a EU funded support programme which includes equipment valued at EUR 10 million (GEL 32 Million) to Georgian authorities for use in areas of migration and border management.  To date various departments of the MIA have received sizeable quantities of document examination equipment, which has supported the Georgian government’s compliance in improving migration governance and border management, and meet the benchmarks of the EU visa-free travel suspension mechanism. Supporting the Georgian authorities in fighting highly complex forms of cybercrime is another priority for the EU.

For further information contact:

• Tamriko Mikadze, Press and Information Officer, Delegation of the European Union, Tamriko.Mikadze@eeas.europa.eu
• Ana Kakushadze, Visibility and Communications Officer, IOM, akakushadze@iom.int

Please also visit the IOM websites www.informedmigration.ge and its Facebook page SBMMG.