Georgia to host NATO 2017 Parliamentary Assembly Spring Session

NATO Parliamentary Assembly has decided to host the 2017 Spring Session in Georgia.

The decision was announced following a request of the chairman of the defense and security committee of Georgia's Parliament Irakli Sesiashvili to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which serves as the consultative inter-parliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Alliance.

Sesiashvili believed hosting such a high level meeting confirmed the NATO Parliamentary Assembly supported Georgia in joining the Alliance.

"The assessment committee will arrive in Georgia to examine the local infrastructure for hosting the delegation, which is expected to include more than 800 people,” Sesiashvili said.

The Assembly meet and participate in two sessions per year – in spring and in autumn.

At the Spring Session, each of the five committees (Political, the Defence and Security, the Committee on Economics and Security, the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security and the Science and Technology Committee) hold a one-day meeting to consider reports and to meet with government officials and policy experts.

On the last day, the Assembly holds a plenary sitting to conduct Assembly business, debate key issues and hear from key national and international leaders.

Georgia became an Associate Member of the Assembly in May 1999, and since then members of the Georgian delegation have participated in many activities open to the Assembly’s partners.

Since 2002, Georgia initiated an extensive reform program and is actively pursuing NATO membership. Through its cooperation with the Georgian Parliament, the Assembly supports Georgia’s reform agenda and its efforts to prepare for eventual membership into the Alliance.

Following the August 2008 conflict in Georgia, the Assembly decided to strengthen its institutional relationship with the Georgian Parliament by creating the Georgia-NATO Inter-parliamentary Council (GNIC).