NATO Secretary General plans first Georgia visit
Tweet 
Share
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) top official is looking at his calendar and deciding on a date to come to Georgia for the first time.
NATO’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Apathurai said the Alliance’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, was planning his first official visit to Georgia, and this would take place in the nearest future.
"The Secretary General is looking, I can tell you that. The visit to Georgia will take place as soon as possible and that’s not just a diplomatic phrase, he is looking at the calendar and narrowing down some dates, so I think sooner rather than later that should happen,” said Apathurai today.
In Brussels today the NATO regional representative also told journalists about the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre and its upcoming opening.
"We are in close discussion with the Georgian Government and I know that Georgia has moved very quickly. We want to make sure that we together – as it is a joint training centre – know exactly what it is for, exactly what will be required and then move to implementation, but we will move as quickly as we can,” he noted.
After this the NATO official recounted the recent visit of Georgia’s Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli to NATO headquarters and praised her for doing "an excellent job”.
"Overall the Defence Minister came here with a very good reputation. She left Brussels with an even strengthened reputation. She got acquainted with the details very quickly and outlined a strategic vision, which she also shared with the press. She very clearly expresses Georgia’s position and this is very important. She did an excellent job during her visit to NATO and we look forward to meeting her within the NATO Defence Ministerial,” Apathurai said.
When Khidasheli visited Brussels on June 2 she met with the NATO Secretary General and at the time she said Stoltenberg would probably time his visit to Georgia to coincide with the opening of the NATO-Georgia joint training centre.
Georgia is asking NATO to offer the country a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the Warsaw Summit planned for July 2016.
Georgia’s Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli is set to meet Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels today.
A NATO assessment team involved in the establishment of the new NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre has finished its first visit to Georgia.
NATO may hold military exercises in Georgia and establish a military training centre in the country, see more Georgian participation in NATO exercises and possibly expand the local NATO liaison office - a top NATO official said.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow believes all tools are in place for Georgia to move forward with its desire to integrate into Euro-Atlantic structures.
Georgia is today marking five years’ service of the Georgian Armed Forces (GAF) in an international NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.
The Minister of Defence of Georgia has started a two-day official visit to the capital of Belgium, where she is meeting European Union (EU) high officials and attending her first NATO defence ministerial.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is coming to Georgia next month and while here he will open the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre.
The top official of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is coming to Georgia. On August 26-27, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will pay his first official visit to Georgia. Today Georgia’s Foreign Ministry released information of Stoltenberg’s upcoming visit, including his agenda.