Press Service of the UNICEF Georgia

Emergency Situations management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs received notification from Emergency Response Center according to which fire broke out on the slope of the mountain, located near to Sviri village, Akhaltsikhe. Several minutes later after receiving the report, dozens of firefighters had operatively already arrived at the scene with firefighting technic.

Fire-extinguishing activities are led by the Minister of Internal Affairs –Giorgi Mgebrishvili and head of Emergency Situaations Manageent Agency- Nikoloz Siradze.

More than 100 of firefighters of the Emergency Situations management Agency were involved in the fire-extinguishing activities. Due to the difficult relief, Border Police helicopter and 170 employees of Special Tasks Department were involved in fire liquidation activities.

Fire-rescuers and Border Police helicopter carried out all necessary measures to localize the fire. At this moment the fire is localized and there is no risk of spreading fire. Liquidation activities are currently underway to extinguish particular fire pockets.

Foreign Minister of Georgia H.E. Mikheil Janelidze welcomed H.E Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP for a bilateral visit to Georgia. The visit took place in parallel with the third round of the high level UK-Georgia bilateral “Wardrop” Dialogue, led by Foreign Minister of Georgia, Mikheil Janelidze and Minister of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Sir Alan Duncan MP. The dialogue is named after Sir Oliver Wardrop, an expert on Georgian language and culture who was posted to Tbilisi as the UK’s first Chief Commissioner of the Transcaucasus from 1919-1921.
Summary: Discussions during the Wardrop Dialogue covered current and future UK-Georgia cooperation in the political, defence and security spheres;  process for Georgia’s integration  with the EU and NATO; progress on priority reforms, including the government’s 4 point reform plan, and judicial reform in Georgia; and an exchange of views on regional political and security developments. Both sides positively evaluated the work achieved under the Wardrop Dialogue banner so far in the fields of foreign policy, security and defence, business and the economy. The introduction of a new session on People-to-People relations brought a new element to this year’s Wardrop Dialogue, with a particular emphasis on developing educational ties, cultural collaboration and city twinning. 
At the opening Ministerial Plenary Session Minister Janelidze gave an update on developments in Georgia since the last session in 2015, including the October Parliamentary elections, and a forward look at the new Government of Georgia's agenda. Minister for Europe and the Americas Rt Hon Sir Alan Duncan MP said that the UK looked forward to continuing to work with  Georgia, and gave an update on developments in the UK since the last Dialogue in 2015. He stressed that the UK would maintain a leading role in global affairs through the UNSC, NATO, G7, and G20, and that the UK’s decision to leave the EU would not mean any reduction in its interest in, or commitment to, Georgia and the wider region.  Minister Duncan stressed that the UK follows the conflict in Georgia and he condemned the ratification by the Russian Federation of the so-called “agreement” on the creation of a joint group of armed forces in Abkhazia region. In recognition of the value of this annual Dialogue and the close ties between our two countries, Minister Janelidze and Minister Duncan agreed to an upgrade of the UK-Georgia dialogue to become the “Wardrop Strategic Dialogue”.
During official level discussions, the two sides discussed cooperation on political, security and defence issues; business and economic cooperation; and the potential for further expanding people-to-people ties, education and cultural links. In the political, security and defence discussions, the UK side noted that the October parliamentary elections had been competitive and well-administered, and expressed its strong continuing support for Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations.
The UK also reiterated once again its support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders, and expressed concern over the grave security and human rights situation in Georgia’s regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia. The UK firmly supports the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Georgia, based on full respect of the fundamental norms and principles of international law and the 12 August 2008 Ceasefire Agreement.
The two sides welcomed the strong security and defence relationship between their two Governments, noting the extent of defence cooperation, and welcoming continued exchange of expertise on Cyber and Counter-Terrorism issues. The UK expressed its appreciation for Georgia’s continuing contribution to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. Both sides welcomed the participation of 160 British military personnel in the US-Georgia military exercise Noble Partner 2016.
The two sides discussed further potential for deepening business and commercial ties, noting that the UK was the second biggest investor in Georgia and that bilateral trade is on an increasing trend. They highlighted the importance of the South Caucasus pipeline as an important component of European energy security.
Finally, the two sides welcomed strong existing people-to-people links and explored ways to increase educational and cultural ties between the UK and Georgia, including the activities undertaken by the British Council in Georgia, English language training programmes, the growing number of Chevening Scholarships for Georgia, with 17 Chevening scholars this year alone, and the strong partnerships represented by the twinning associations between Newport and Kutaisi; Tbilisi and Bristol; and Newcastle and Akhaltsikhe. Both sides agreed that all efforts should be made to support and develop these links further.

The President of Georgia held a public lecture on the importance of elections, voter turnout and civic duties in Akhaltsikhe, Samtskhe-Javakheti State University. Giorgi Margvelashvili was hosted by the Rector Merab Beridze. They discussed projects financed by reserve funds of President of Georgia.
According to the Presidential Administration, in the frames of collaboration memorandum, Internetization of academic and administrative corpuses has made since 2014. Medical conference was also hold.
According to reports, Giorgi Margvelashvili answered student’s questions on Euro Integration of Georgia, attitudes to the electoral process, activeness of President in pre election period and project implemented and planned by him. 

Marathon in the framework of the multinational exercise “Agile Spirit 2016” was held in Akhaltsikhe. Except for the participants of the multinational exercise of GAF, the U.S., Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, five military personnel, wounded in international missions and in fights for the territorial integrity of Georgia were involved in the race as well.  
The sport event was dedicated to the memory of the Georgian military personnel fallen for the territorial integrity of Georgia and in international missions. The race started from the territory of Orpolo firing-ground and finished at the Bridge named after Sergeant Anzor Geldiashvili who died in the August War in 2008.
The military exercise is conducted by the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces and the U.S. Marines. Agile Spirit 2016 included CPX and field exercises. The exercise officially closed on September 9 at the Orpolo firing range.

The multinational military exercise Agile Spirit 2016 has started today on Orpolo firing range in Akhaltsikhe. Chief of General Staff, Major-General Vakhtang Kapanadze opened the international exercise and congratulated the Georgian and foreign military personnel on the beginning of training.
“It is a great honor for me to open this exercise.  I am very delightful that our brothers from Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and the U.S. Navy Forces are here with us.  I am very glad that people represented here and their countries appreciate peace. This training is a symbol that Georgia, Urkaine, Romania, Bulgaria and the U.S. are not standing alone and we are doing great job. Heroism does not have nationality and religion. I am very glad that friendship will be forged here that is very important for future success,” said General Kapanadze.
The representatives of the Georgian Armed Forces and local government of Samtskhe-Javakheti region attended the official opening ceremony. Following the official part of event, Chief of General Staff got familiar with the infrastructure of the exercise and was briefed by the Exercise Commander Colonel Malkhaz Makaradze about the scheduled activities and future plans within Agile Spirit 2016.
The military exercise is conducted by the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces and the U.S. Marines. Participating nations of the exercise also are: Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and   Latvia.
The goal of the exercises is to maintain and strengthen relations with the U.S. and partner countries, support the regional security, improve defensive and offensive operation skills.
Agile Spirit 2016 includes the command post and field exercises.  The CPX will start on the territory of the IV Mechanized Brigade in Vaziani on September 3. The exercise will be officially closed on September 9.