Georgia's Defence Minister meets US counterpart

Georgia's Defence Minister Mindia Janelidze has met United States (US) Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel at the NATO headquarters in Brussels today.

The meeting between Georgian and American counterparts was held within the NATO Defence Ministerial. The sides discussed issues of bilateral cooperation between Georgia and the US. 

Georgia's Defence Minister thanked Hagel for the US' contribution to the development of Georgia’s Armed Forces.

In return Hagel positively assessed the ongoing reforms in Georgia’s Defence Ministry and expressed readiness to actively support the transformation process.

Another topic of discussion was regional security and its challenges. Special emphasis was made on the importance of Georgia’s participation in international missions. The US Secretary of Defence underlined the significance of Georgian troops’ contribution to global security.

Discussion also focused on the implementation of the NATO-US substantial package and the US' role in the implementation process of the components identified by the package.

The NATO Ministerial started on February 4 in Brussels. Over the three day event Defence Minister Janelidze met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, participated in the NATO-Georgia Commission meeting at the level of Defence Ministers and held meetings with Defence Ministers of NATO countries, including his colleagues from Poland, Romania, Britain and Lithuania.