By Peter Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
Faina Kirschenbaum, Israeli Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, and Irakly Garibashvili, Georgian Interior Minister,have signed an agreement to adopt the visa-free regime. Israeli Ambassador to Georgia Yuval Fuchs attended the ceremony. The agreement will come into force after ratification by both parliaments.
The free-visa regime is in force for Israeli citizens visiting Georgia. According to the document, Georgians will not need visas in Israel for the first 90 days of their presence. “This agreement is a result of close and fruitful cooperation and friendly and stable relations between our states. It is a very important agreement that would allow cooperation between Israel and Georgia to intensify in many fields,”, emphasized Faina Kirschenbaum.
In his turn, Irakly Garibashvili, who will soon become the Georgian Prime Minister, said that implementation of a visa-free regime was an essential step in relations between the two states and would boost tourism and trade.
The idea to lift the visa regime was discussed at the recent visit of Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin to Georgia. None of the politicians or functionaries expected the sides to reach an agreement on the issue that fast.
Georgian ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said that Georgian-Israeli relations started a new stage after the Georgian Dream coalition had won the elections.
Faina Kirschenbaum attended the ceremony of Georgian President Georgy Margvelashvili taking the oath. She was the official representative of Israel at the process.
