FBI Director visits Georgia

May 6-7, 2010

Robert S. Mueller III Press Departure Statement

It was a pleasure to be here in Tbilisi.  The U.S. and Georgia enjoy a strong bi-lateral relationship.  We are working together productively on a broad range of issues, and while this is my first trip to Georgia, I've known for many years about our long, shared history of law enforcement cooperation.  

During my visit here, I've had some very good meetings with Minister Merabishvili and Minister Adeishvili.  We discussed our successful history of cooperation and our expectation that the FBI, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice will remain strong partners well into the future.   Georgians recognize the important work done by law enforcement officers throughout the country and I'd like to commend Minister Merabishvili and his Ministry for the progress they have made in terms of professionalism and transparency.  

In an era in which crime crosses international boundaries as easily as commerce, the FBI is continually striving to improve cooperation with our international partners through training, liaison, and joint investigations. To better coordinate FBI investigations, which often have an international component, the FBI offers extensive training to our foreign partners, both at the FBI Academy and overseas.  For example, Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs officers have received training in Crime Scene Processing and Weapons of Mass Destruction Investigations. 

Two officers from the Ministry have graduated from the FBI National Academy, with another officer scheduled to attend this summer.  Also, within the past year, FBI Agents assigned to our Legal Attaché office at the U.S. Embassy here in Georgia provided training to Georgian prosecutors as part of a U.S. Department of Justice program to assist with Georgia's transition to the new Criminal Procedure Code.  Notably, Georgian investigators recently traveled to the U.S. to share their expertise with FBI Agents on the topic of Eurasian Organized Crime, which is a serious problem in the U.S. and many other countries around the world. The thorough knowledge of our Georgian colleagues has been very helpful to the FBI Agents as they continue to investigate these dangerous criminal groups.

Without going into specific investigations, I can tell you the FBI, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice have successfully cooperated in the past and will continue to cooperate on a variety of cases, including organized crime, white collar crime, fugitive apprehension, violent crime, and cyber crime.  We continue to build on our solid foundation of partnership and, indeed, friendship.   

Law enforcement cooperation among nations is critically important in our shared fight against international crime and terrorism, and I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice for their outstanding cooperation with the FBI.