NATO Deputy Secretary General visits JTEC exercise centre outside Tbilisi

NATO-Georgia's Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC) hosted a visit by the alliance's Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller earlier today, as the NATO Parliamentary Assembly prepares to wind down in capital Tbilisi.

A formal ceremony was held at the centre to welcome Gottemoeller, who took the position in the alliance after serving as Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the United States Department of State.

She was welcomed at the venue, located outside Georgia's capital, by a group of Georgian officials and military commanders headed by Minister of Defence Levan Izoria and Chief of General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces Major General Vladimer Chachibaia.

#NATO's @Gottemoeller visited NATO-Georgia Joint Training & Evaluation Center in Krtsanisi [JTEC info here https://t.co/nbVR1pye3G] pic.twitter.com/d3WugkoSUm

— MOD Georgia (@ModGovGe) May 29, 2017

At the JTEC Gottemoeller heard about reforms in Georgia's defence field from Izoria and received information about activities at the centre, launched in 2015 to facilitate joint exercises "between troops from Georgia, NATO and Partner Nations".

The Deputy Secretary General also featured in a ceremony to decorate the venue's memorial stand for Georgian service members fallen in international peacekeeping missions.

Visiting officials and military commanders were given presentations about JTEC activities at the venue. Photo: Georgia's Defence Ministry press office.

Gottemoeller's visit to the venue also involved US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly and William Lahue, Head of the NATO Liaison Office in the country.

Gottemoeller is on visit to Georgia within frames of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, hosted in Tbilisi from May 26-29.