Daur Kove, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Abkhazia met with Louise Vinton, the UN Resident Coordinator, the UNDP Resident Representative, Gassan Khalil, the UN Resident Representative and Johannes van der Klaau, the UNHCR Permanent Representative. The meeting was held at the Foreign Ministry of Abkhazia on January 25,2018.
The meeting was also attended by Irakli Tuzhba, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia, Arthur Gaguliya, the Head of the MFA Department for Cooperation with International Organizations as well as Madina Sulava, the Program Specialist of the UNDP Office in Abkhazia.
The main attention was paid to the question of the restriction imposed on the crossing of the state border along the Ingur river for a period of two months, associated with an outbreak of the H1N1 strain (the so-called “swine flu”) in Georgia.
Louise Vinton, the UN Resident Coordinator, the UNDP Resident Representative in Abkhazia appealed to the head of the country's foreign affairs agency to consider the possibility of lifting restrictions on crossing the Ingur river as this negatively affects the vulnerable part of the population of the Gali district and also affects the implementation of projects in health care.
Louise Vinton informed the Minister that consultations had been held with the representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) who confirmed that the current incidence rates of swine flu in Georgia are lower than those of previous years and do not threaten the spread of other states to the territory.
Daur Kove, in turn, noted that the decision to impose quarantine and restrictions on crossing the border with Georgia was dictated by the need to ensure the safety of the citizens of Abkhazia and prevent the possible spread of the virus in the republic. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia stressed that if the situation with the flu virus in Georgia improves, the Abkhaz authorities will decide to remove the quarantine and soften the crossing regime at the Ingur checkpoint.
The participants also discussed issues related to the documentation and freedom of movement of residents of the Gali district during the conversation.
Daur Kove also drew the attention of the meeting participants to the need to sign a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia and the UN agencies operating in the republic which will create a legitimate legal framework for their activities.
An exchange of views on other issues of mutual interest took place during the meeting.
The meeting was also attended by Irakli Tuzhba, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia, Arthur Gaguliya, the Head of the MFA Department for Cooperation with International Organizations as well as Madina Sulava, the Program Specialist of the UNDP Office in Abkhazia.
The main attention was paid to the question of the restriction imposed on the crossing of the state border along the Ingur river for a period of two months, associated with an outbreak of the H1N1 strain (the so-called “swine flu”) in Georgia.
Louise Vinton, the UN Resident Coordinator, the UNDP Resident Representative in Abkhazia appealed to the head of the country's foreign affairs agency to consider the possibility of lifting restrictions on crossing the Ingur river as this negatively affects the vulnerable part of the population of the Gali district and also affects the implementation of projects in health care.
Louise Vinton informed the Minister that consultations had been held with the representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) who confirmed that the current incidence rates of swine flu in Georgia are lower than those of previous years and do not threaten the spread of other states to the territory.
Daur Kove, in turn, noted that the decision to impose quarantine and restrictions on crossing the border with Georgia was dictated by the need to ensure the safety of the citizens of Abkhazia and prevent the possible spread of the virus in the republic. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia stressed that if the situation with the flu virus in Georgia improves, the Abkhaz authorities will decide to remove the quarantine and soften the crossing regime at the Ingur checkpoint.
The participants also discussed issues related to the documentation and freedom of movement of residents of the Gali district during the conversation.
Daur Kove also drew the attention of the meeting participants to the need to sign a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia and the UN agencies operating in the republic which will create a legitimate legal framework for their activities.
An exchange of views on other issues of mutual interest took place during the meeting.