Georgia, US sign memorandum for further development of Georgia’s defence system

The Georgian Defence Ministry and the United States European Command have signed a memorandum of understanding about strengthening the defence capabilities of Georgia today.

The memorandum envisages cooperation in implementation of the Georgia Defence Readiness Program (GDPR), a program that is part of the framework agreement on security cooperation for 2016-2019 between the US Department of Defence and the Georgian Defence Ministry. The agreement is to promote the further development of Georgia’s defence system.

Defence Minister Levan Izoria said that the memorandum signed today will mainly focus on training aimed at advancing Georgia’s territorial defence capabilities.

"Together with our American counterparts, we are planning to form, equip and train nine battalions during the next three years in order to boost our defence and make Georgia a safer country in the future”, Izoria said after signing the ceremony.

From the American side, the document was signed by Major General David W. Allvin, the Director of the Strategy and Policy Headquarters at US European Command in Germany.

Izoria thanked him for the United States’ strong support for Georgia and stressed the importance of the Georgia Defence Readiness Program for the country’s defence sector.