Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

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Solomon Pavliashvili, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia leads the Interagency Delegation of Georgia to the United States Department of State.

The working visit aimed to determine the needs and possibilities for assisting Georgia in chemical substance safety management and threat reduction and to plan future steps.

The Delegation of Georgia embraces representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Security Service, and the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus).

During the visit, the Georgian Delegation met with Mrs. Kathryn Insley, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Programs at the U.S. Department of State.

‘’Georgia has made significant progress in the chemical safety area across the country. The United States of America plans to further support Georgia in reducing the threats still existing in this direction, which has never been more important than today, " Mrs. Kathryn Insley stated.

"The United States of America is a strategic partner of Georgia. Our Government, within the scope of compliance with the EU membership criteria, and with the support of the US Department of State, continues to actively bring the chemical substances management framework closer to the systems of the European Union and the United States of America", Mr. Solomon Pavliashvili noted.

The Georgian delegation and the representatives of the Agencies of the State Department working on chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear threats-related issues addressed the current state of security. The discussion included Georgia’s plans, challenges, and ongoing joint initiatives.

 Within the framework of the visit, the Georgian Delegation met with Mr. Clifford Villa, the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the U.S. EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management.

"For Georgia, as an active participant of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements, it is very important to align with the United States position to support our initiatives related to the safe management of chemicals and waste in the negotiation process," said Mr. Solomon Pavliashvili.

 " The US has extensive experience and guidance documents in preventing and responding to chemical pollution incidents, which the Georgian side may use in strengthening planned legislative and institutional capacities for preparedness and timely response to chemical threats. The US Agency is ready to support the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia in this direction", said Mr. Clifford Villa.

The US Environmental Protection Agency representatives shared the American experience with their Georgian colleagues in reducing the risk of environmental pollution with chemical substances and restoring polluted areas and agreed on issues of deepening cooperation.