Visa requirement

The trending topic in Georgia during the last two weeks was visa for a variety of reasons.

First, Georgian government made an important announcement that starting October 13, 2010, North Caucasians can visit Georgia for up to 90 days without a visa. Decision of Georgia's government rose many questions among politicians within and outside the country, nevertheless ordinary people immediately started benefiting from it. The best part of it is that now they can visit their relatives, make business deals or just enjoy tourist attractions without the hassle of going through all the bureaucratic troubles of obtaining a visa.

Going in the same spirit, the European Union (EU) made some vital changes in the visa requirement for the Georgians. The visa process for EU now became more transparent and quick. This new mechanism of handling the visa process will benefit not only the ordinary Georgians in large but especially a certain group of people. Students, journalists and those engaged in cultural, artistic, scientific and sports activities will no longer require visa to visit an EU country.

Both of these gestures on part of the Georgian government and EU are huge step towards bridging differences and connecting people that will ultimately result in more socio-economic prosperity for the region in general.

source: PFE/RL, European Parliament, Civil.ge, RiaNovosti.