Georgia to host 2017 Eastern European Defence Ministerial
Tweet 
Share
Georgia has been granted the right to host the South Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial (SEDM) in 2017, the country’s Defence Ministry announced.
News of Georgia’s approval of the upcoming conference came one day after the conclusion of this year’s SEDM conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
A Georgian delegation attended the two-day event, which saw defence ministers from Europe’s South Eastern states gather to discuss cooperation and regional challenges. The October 21-22 forum marked the first time Georgia was represented as a full member of the SEDM.
Georgia has participated in the annual meeting since 2006 as an observer.
Georgia’s Ministry of Defence initiated the process of gaining full membership in 2013. Speaking about this year’s conference, Deputy Defence Minister Ana Dolidze noted the importance of the country’s change in status.
The states that initially became members of the Ministerial are now part of NATO and the European Union. Membership of this organisation is important for Georgia as it represents a certain step towards NATO membership,” Dolidze said.
The SEDM involved delegations from more than 10 states including Italy, Turkey, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and the United States.
The annual meeting was established in 1996 to strengthen regional defence cooperation and increase interoperability of the multi-national peacekeeping units from the region, according to the Ministerial’s official objectives.
Another of the organisation’s goals was "promotion of Euro-Atlantic integration processes of SEDM member nations”.
The SEDM gathering in Dubrovnik was one part of the Comprehensive Regional Defence Ministerial, which also included two other defence meetings; the United States Adriatic Charter and Western Balkans Defence Policy Directors.
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.
Conflict management and continental security were the focus of discussions between Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and his European counterparts at an informal ministerial of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Germany on Thursday.
For the first time in the history of Georgia, the country is hosting the South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial (SEDM). The international event is taking place in Georgia’s Black Sea coastal resort of Batumi.
Georgian defence minister Juansher Burchuladze on Thursday featured in the South-Eastern Defence Ministerial in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia that discussed regional security issues, Russia’s occupation of parts of Ukraine and Georgia, and cooperation between member states.
Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze will this week feature in the South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial in Ankara, with the event looking to consolidate cooperation between the countries of the region and promote integration of its countries into Euro-Atlantic structures.