Chief of Georgian Defence Forces talks joint packages with NATO chiefs
Major General Giorgi Matiashvili met his counterparts from NATO member and partner states in Brussels on Tuesday. Photo via NATO.
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Chief of Georgian Defence Forces Major General Giorgi Matiashvili discussed the country's joint projects with NATO at the alliance's headquarters on Tuesday, with defence chiefs meeting in person in Brussels.
Matiashvili was invited to meet his counterparts from alliance member states at the gathering of 30 chiefs of defence, coming ahead of the Heads of State and Government Summit at the headquarters in four weeks' time.
While their meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg primarily dealt with the ongoing drawdown of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, the top brass also met their colleagues from Ukraine and Georgia.
In session with #Georgia, the Chair of the #NATOMC ACM Peach congratulated MGen Matiashvili on recent participation of ???????? Special Forces in EX Trojan Footprint. #NATOCHoDs also received an update on the status of the Substantial #NATO-Georgia Package & other programmes. pic.twitter.com/FcTygCdCPl
— NATO_PASCAD (@NATO_PASCAD) May 18, 2021
The group of alliance member state defence chiefs thanked Matiashvili for Georgia's participation in NATO-led peacekeeping missions and operations, the alliance's summary for the meeting said.
They also touched on the subject of the recently concluded Trojan Footprint exercise that involved five host countries including Georgia, and Georgian special forces for the first time.
A review of the "updated" Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, a joint project involving measures for developing Georgia's defence capabilities and interoperability with alliance member and partner states, was also part of the discussions.
Georgian Coast Guard service and a group of NATO vessels joined forces in drills in the Black Sea, the interior ministry reported on Friday.
The Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP) has been updated following the NATO foreign ministerial yesterday, and NATO experts have called for strengthening partnership with ‘valued partners - Georgia and Ukraine’, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani stated earlier today.
Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze said Georgia has all the practical tools that are necessary to become a member of NATO.
Georgian drill instructors are leading courses for international observer trainers alongside their colleagues from Lithuania at the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC), with field manoeuvres involving troops from alliance member and partner states included in the five-day training.
Special forces units from Georgian Defence Forces are involved in drills alongside counterparts from NATO member and partner states in the alliance's annual Trojan Footprint exercise involving air, sea and land assets in five host countries.
Land and sea assets as well as staff from the Georgian Defence Forces will participate in Sea Breeze 2021 multinational drills led by the United States and Ukraine hosted in the Black Sea regions of Ukraine starting next month.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has attended an event celebrating the end of the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan earlier this morning where he stated that for 17 years 'our country and our heroic military have made a worthy contribution to world peace and the fight against terrorism'.
The Chief of Defence of Italy Enzo Vecciarelli, who has paid his first ever visit to Georgia, expressed his support to the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Following his meeting with Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze, the Italian General spoke about strengthening defence ties with his counterpart, Chief of Georgian Defence Forces, Major General Giorgi Matiashvili.
Cooperation between Georgian and Latvian defence structures was discussed on Thursday in a meeting between major general Giorgi Matiashvili, the chief of the Georgian Defence Forces and brigadier general Egils Leščinskis, the commander of the Latvian National Guard.