NATO officials in Georgia for Strategic Military Partners Conference
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Georgia’s capital city is hosting an international NATO conference where Alliance members and partner countries can share their perspective on strategic issues of common interest.
Chiefs of Defence of NATO member countries, partner nations and experts are taking part in the annual NATO Strategic Military Partners Conference 2015 (SMPC). The two-day military forum, being held at Expo Georgia in Tbilisi, allowed representatives from NATO member and partner countries’ armed forces to discuss defence sector development and future challenges facing the Alliance and the world.
Georgia’s Minister of Defence Tinatin Khidasheli opened the conference’s plenary session earlier today and spoke about the existing security challenges facing her country, the significance of Georgia’s partnership with NATO and Georgia’s NATO membership perspectives.
"Though faced with serious security challenges, I am proud that Georgia, today, represents one of the most interoperable, reliable and devoted partners of NATO. I am proud that difficulties have only made us stronger, more determined to advance defence transformation process, develop capabilities, focus on education and training, and further enhance NATO interoperability,” she said.
"I am confident that this will naturally lead to fulfillment of our primary objective - NATO membership. I can only remain hopeful that the Warsaw Summit will be rewarding in this regard, which would also serve as a confirmation of allies’ commitment to deliver on their promises,” the Minister noted.
After Khidasheli addressed the audience, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow welcomed the forum participants in a video address.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) French Air Forces General Jean-Paul Palomeros and Deputy Commander of NATO's Allied Land Command Lieutenant General Edward Davis also delivered speeches at the conference as well.
After the international conference was officially opened, the plenary session continued with panel discussions on several topics.
Meanwhile tomorrow participants will participate in group sessions that allow them to jointly examine issues in greater detail.
The SMPC 2015 was being cohosted by NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and the Georgian Armed Forces.
Chiefs of Defence of NATO member countries and its partner nations are gathering today in Tbilisi, Georgia to share their perspectives on strategic issues of common interest.
Alongside with 17 countries Georgian soldiers are participating in United States-led NATO naval exercise at the Baltic Sea.
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.
Georgia is today marking five years’ service of the Georgian Armed Forces (GAF) in an international NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.
Georgia is stuck in a difficult place as it pursues its Euro-Atlantic future while facing continued pressure from Russia, says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a speaking engagement in the United States (US).
"Today Georgia is as ready to be a NATO member, as were incumbent members when they were invited to join the Alliance." These words were spoken by Georgia’s Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) session in Budapest.
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.
Military officials from all over the world are in Georgia to participate in a multinational military exercise run by the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO).
More than a dozen members of Georgia’s Armed Forces have been recognised by their United States allies for their contribution to an international peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.
A special YouTube report by Jeff Holden from NATOchannel.tv outlined the mission and detailed the importance of Georgia’s contribution to NATO missions, despite it not being a member nation.