Abkhaz officials aim to improve border efficiency

The de-facto Abkhazian authorities are about to improve border management. The territory outside the customs terminal in the so-called Abkhaz-Russian border will be put in proper order. Issues to improve the customs terminal on the de-facto Abkhaz-Russian border and the allocated space for parking of public and private transport citizens was discussed at a meeting of Abkhaz de-facto President Alexander Ankvab with the Minister of Interior Otar Khetsia, Economy Minister David Iradyana, Deputy Head of Presidential Administration Christina Ozgan, heads of administrations of the Gagra district Gregory Enik and local news agency Apsnypress.

As Ankvab noted, there is a need to ensure the coordinated working of services outside the terminal. According to him, there is presently some confusion. Ankvab drew attention to the need for a united system of work. He instructed the participants to meet at the border in the coming days, to determine priority actions and methods of implementation, as well as to invite back the heads of all trucking companies and on-site parking areas to identify different types of transport

“We need to bring all this to the appropriate rate– organizational and legal. We need to ensure harmonious work outside the line of the border and customs control,” Alexander Ankvab said.

Head of Administration in the Gagra district, Gregory Enik, said that all the objects at the border function under the time schedule. Parking areas are also functioning within the temporary regime. He noted that his administration, together with the Ministry of Economy, is working to develop a plan on the arrangement of objects and the allocation of places for parking vehicles.

Additional passing gates will also be opened on the Georgian-Abkhazian administrative border, reports Apsnypress. According to Abkhazian media, this initiative was announced after the meeting of Ankvab with the Chief of the Russian Federation Border Control, Sergey Komarevtsev.

“Today is not convenient for everyone to enter in the Gali district. A new pedestrian route will make the movement of our population more convenient,” said Ankvab.

Meanwhile Abkhaz officials deny the information that Russian citizens are in the queue at the border on the Abkhaz side. The head of the de-facto state security service, Zurab Margania, said that this information does not correspond to reality.

He also refused to confirm the rumor about the supposed infant that died standing in the hours-long queues in the heat. According to Margania, the number of tourists wishing to relax in Abkhazia does not dry out. “The situation at the checkpoints on the Russian-Abkhaz border is now stable. People pass without delay,” he added.