Georgia to host 2017 Eastern European Defence Ministerial

The Georgian delegation at the 2015 South Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial was led by Deputy Minister Defence Minister Ana Dolidze. Photo by Ministry of Defence of Georgia/Facebook.
Agenda.ge, 23 Oct 2015 - 13:16, Tbilisi,Georgia

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.