Defence Minister: New program will train readiness of Georgia’s Armed Forces

A new defence program is set to launch in Georgia that will test the readiness and resilience of the country’s military.

Georgia’s Minister of Defence said three Georgian battalions will undergo special trainings with support of foreign allies within a new program that encourages full readiness of Georgia’s Armed Forces (GAF) during conflicts and defensive competency. 

Speaking after Georgia’s State Security Council meeting last night Defence Minister Levan Izoria said the country would soon launch the Readiness Program of GAF, which was agreed with the United States (US) when Secretary of State John Kerry visited Georgia in July. 

 Izoria said with support from the US and other allies, Georgia would launch the practical implementation of the program from next year and train three Georgian battalions. 

The program will train the GAF to be ready to prevent any security-related threats and inflict maximum damage on the enemy,” Izoria said. 

We will launch the practical stage of the program next year and millions of GEL will be allocated for this,” Izoria added. 

From October the Defence Ministry will host important discussions about the country’s Defence Development Strategy with relevant state agencies, the public, local NGOs and all interested parties. The Minister only said the Strategy would cover four years and have five main directions.

We have very close cooperation with our strategic partners, the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). With NATO we have a Substantial Package that offers 13 directions to support Georgia’s defence. 

One of the most important directions of the package outlines maximum support for joint trainings and evaluations, which has already launched,” Izoria said.

Meanwhile establishing Georgia’s air defence was one of the current top priorities of the Ministry. Already France has agreed to support Georgia in this direction, and share its air defence experience with the country.