Head of Georgia’s State Security Service: migration flows amid global conflicts increase security risks

Tamaz Borashvili, Head of Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS), said on Wednesday that growing migration flows amid armed conflicts and difficult socio-economic conditions in various parts of the world were increasing security risks in the region.

Borashvili said the SSS would focus on identifying economic and business projects that could potentially be used by foreign countries to gain leverage and become effective mechanisms for exerting pressure on the Government through so-called soft power.

“Amid armed conflicts and difficult socio-economic conditions in various regions of the world, a growing trend in migration flows can be observed, which increases security risks in our region. Within the framework of counterintelligence activities, I consider monitoring migration channels to be one of the important areas, which, among other things, involves identifying individuals who may have links to the special services of foreign countries”, Borashvili said.

“Moreover, the agency’s efforts will be directed towards identifying economic and business projects that may be used by foreign countries to gain leverage and influence and become effective mechanisms for exerting pressure on the Government through so-called soft power”, he added.

Borashvili also stressed the growing importance of protecting information technology infrastructure and information systems, whose proper functioning he said was critical to the country’s sovereignty and security.

“Accordingly, developing a sustainable cybersecurity system is critically important for the country, and the State Security Service has a particularly important role to play in this process”, he said.

Borashvili said the SSS was currently equipped with modern technologies and had trained personnel with the necessary qualifications to address contemporary cybersecurity challenges.

Turning to international terrorism, he said the global situation continued to pose a significant threat despite international counterterrorism efforts, as terrorist organisations continued to seek to restore their positions and resources.

He highlighted the SSS’s counterterrorism efforts in Georgia, saying they had helped prevent significant terrorist activity in the country over the years.

“As a result of the efforts made by the State Security Service in the field of counterterrorism, there have been no significant activities by terrorist organisations in Georgia for years. There are no structured terrorist groups in the country, opportunities for financing terrorism have been drastically reduced, while the number of possible supporters of terrorist ideology in Georgia is very small”, Borashvili noted.

Nevertheless, he said improving counterterrorism mechanisms and strengthening the country’s capacity to respond to incidents would remain among the SSS’s priorities in the fight against terrorism.

“Particular attention will be paid to the continuous training of units directly involved in the fight against terrorism, their professional development, improvement of their material and technical capabilities, information exchange with partners, and further development of cooperation mechanisms”, Borashvili concluded.