Georgian Defence Minister: “We meet NATO standards”

Georgian Defence Minister  Levan Izoria stated at today’s hearing in the legislative body that Georgia meets NATO standards due to the reforms the Ministry has carried out.

Izoria told lawmakers that after the optimization of the Defence Ministry budget the salary expenses have been reduced to 53 percent of the whole Defence Ministry budget.

The figure was 66 percent in 2015. Now the Defence Ministry distributes the budget money as NATO demands. As the salary expenses decreased, we could allocate more funds for armament,” Izoria said.

The Minister stated that according to NATO standards 20 percent of the Defence Ministry budget should be spent on armament.

We spend even more for weaponry and it is a historic moment. We have already managed to purchase anti-tank missile systems, Javelins, from the United States,” Izoria added.

The Minister said that his body completed the first phase of purchase of the anti-air systems from France and moved to the second phase to strengthen the country’s self-defence capabilities.

The Minister also commented on multinational drills - Noble Partner and Agile Spirit held in Georgia.

Izoria announced that sea drills could be added to the Agile Spirit exercise.