Author: Vasil Iarajuli

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is collaborating with Thassos Municipality in Greece to facilitate the recovery of the island’s tourism sector. In a recent statement, the UNWTO has also emphasised that there will be an overall evaluation of the marketing campaigns implemented for Thasos tourism in recent years, drawing essential knowledge to guide future efforts. Then, a new marketing action plan will be developed together as well based on the results of the evaluation, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. Thassos has an extraordinary natural landscape and lies in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. It also serves as an enchanting island for…

Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia on Wednesday highlighted the Government’s support for the country’s agriculture sector over the recent years, noting the backing given to winemakers and hazelnut farmers in particular. Shamugia accused domestic opposition of “politicising” topics of seasonal harvest figures and claimed farmers had received “unprecedented” support from the state over the recent years. He contrasted the figure of 20 million litres of wine exported a decade ago to 120 million he said was expected from exports in 2023, and added the Government was aiming to receive $1 billion from the export of wine and alcoholic beverages by…

Germany’s Federal Court of Audit does not buy Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s back-of-the-envelope calculations for maintaining the so-called debt brake. In a report dated last Friday, but released this week, the court criticized the government’s use of “special funds,” which it said are now accumulating to a massive €869 billion. The auditors slammed this shadow budget as “hidden debt.” “By shifting revenues and expenditures to special funds on a financially significant scale, the federal budget has been gutted over the years,” the Court of Audit warned. Lindner has repeatedly committed to meeting the constitutionally enshrined Schuldenbremse, or debt brake, which allows Berlin to only…

COLOGNE, Germany — The German navy is slated to lead a multinational drill in the Baltic Sea in September meant to help defend NATO members Estonia and Latvia against an attack, presumably from neighboring Russia. The annual Northern Coasts exercise series has offered Baltic Sea nations a chance to test operations as a combined force since its inception in 2007. With Russia’s attack against Ukraine as the backdrop, planners this year have made clear this year’s iteration was conceived to address the real-world possibilityof an attack against NATO on the northeastern flank. The main exercise area this year, from Sept.…

Georgian border guards let in a group of six Ukrainians who were denied entry to the country on August 17 and were stranded for 10 days at the Georgian-Russian Zemo Larsi (Upper Larsi) border checkpoint. According to the MFA, the Georgian side immediately informed the Ukrainian embassy in Georgia about the Ukrainian citizens on the border with Georgia. The Ukrainian side explained that appropriate lengthy procedures are needed to resolve the issue from its side. As the Georgian side was waiting for the relevant decision from the Ukrainian side, the health condition of one of the Ukrainian citizens near the border has deteriorated, therefore,…

Türkiye is closely following the developments about the Lachin corridor and called expects Armenia to avoid provocative steps, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. “Türkiye has been following the longstanding debates on the Lachin road closely and understands Azerbaijan’s legitimate concerns on the issue,” the ministry said. “Unfortunately, these concerns that Azerbaijan has voiced loudly for a long time were not taken into account, and as a result, Azerbaijan took the measures it deems appropriate within the framework of its sovereign rights,” the ministry said in a statement. Azerbaijan has called on countries and international organizations that have made anti-Azerbaijani statements to respect…

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia on Tuesday arrested one individual for defrauding their victim through promises of ensuring favourable outcomes in an investigation handled by the body. The Office said its investigation had established the offender had misrepresented themselves as having connections with the Office and “other state agencies” and promising to use the links to ensure a favourable decision in an ongoing case involving the latter. The arrested individual had requested a two-stage payment of $220,000 from their target, and received $100,000 as the first payment for the agreement. The crime is punishable by six to nine years in…

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said in an interview with China Central Televsion the trade turnover between Georgia and China had grown by 400 percent following the signing of the free trade agreement between the two countries in 2018, adding China had “very rapidly” become the third-largest trading partner of Georgia. China can easily become Georgia’s number one trading partner if we continue to export more quality products to China and vice versa. There is a big potential, and I believe in this potential, and that is why I am so passionate about the potential that comes from the free…

The Government of Georgia has approved the 2023-2030 National Transport and Logistics Strategy and its 2023-2024 Action Plan, aiming to position the country as a regional logistics and transport hub, the Government Administration announced on Monday. The body said the document aimed to strengthen the country’s logistics sector and ensure “effective” functioning of road, railway and marine transport and civil aviation while increasing the competitiveness of international transport routes and further developing domestic passenger transportation. An interdepartmental commission for the development of the transport and logistics sector was also created as part of the Government decree, and will coordinate the…

The largest number of visitors Georgia hosted in the second quarter of 2023 came from Turkey, followed by Russia and Armenia, the latest inbound tourism statistics published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia on Monday show. Georgia hosted 290,800 visitors from Turkey, or 24 percent of the total number, with 22.1 percent arriving from Russia and 12.4 percent from Armenia. Visits by Turkish citizens amounted to 366,100, with Russian nationals making 320,800 visits, and the number standing at 214,600 for those from Armenia. The overall number of arrivals of international travellers in Georgia equalled 1.7 million in the second quarter of…