Georgia will support Afghanistan after troops depart

Georgia will continue participating in Afghanistan once the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission ends later this year.

Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania met Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Zarar Ahmad Osmani today and the pair discussed how the countries could benefit from future collaboration.

Alasania stated Tbilisi offered Afghanistan "a wide range of cooperation possibilities”, which included a chance for Afghan military servicemen to attend Georgian military educational institutions.

Georgia and Afghanistan plan to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Defence Cooperation in the near future, Alasania said following the meeting. 

He also underlined that relations between Kabul and Tbilisi should not be limited to military cooperation.

"We have offered more economic cooperation and Georgia's transit capabilities to our Afghan colleagues for their economic activities. Consequently, the visit was very timely and proper and we promised to continue cooperating with them after the ISAF operation as well," Alasania stated.

Also today the Afghan official met Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. One of the topics discussed was the upcoming presidential election in Afghanistan. Garibashvili wished success to Afghanistan in the election process and noted that free and fair elections would allow the country to develop further.

Similarly, ways to develop relations between Georgia and Afghanistan were discussed at a session between Osmani and the President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili, who has just returned to Tbilisi after a brief visit to Afghanistan where he met Georgian servicemen participating in the ISAF mission.

Georgia has been involved in the mission in Afghanistan since 2009 and it is the largest non-NATO member contributor to ISAF, with 1,600 soldiers. The majority of Georgian’s served in the Helmand province in Southern Afghanistan, which is considered to be one of the most troubled parts of the country.