Gov’t’s annual report highlights “dynamic” NATO-Georgia cooperation
The document notes consultations and “high-level meetings” held in Tbilisi, Brussels and capitals of NATO member states to promote the process of Georgia joining the alliance. Photo: NATO
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The “dynamic” development of relations between Georgia and NATO are highlighted in the annual report on the work of the country’s Government, set to be submitted to the Parliament today before it is presented to MPs by the Prime Minister later this month.
The document notes consultations and “high-level meetings” held in Tbilisi, Brussels and capitals of NATO member states to promote the process of Georgia joining the alliance.
The Bucharest visit of Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili in November, for attending the NATO Ministerial in the city, is also highlighted, with the report noting partner states at the event “reaffirmed the record of the 2008 Bucharest Summit [on Georgia becoming a NATO member]” and “made specific decisions on the implementation of the Georgia-tailored aid package approved at the Madrid Summit”.
It also stresses the alliance has developed an assessment document for the implementation of the 2022 annual national programme that “positively evaluates” reforms carried out in “various fields” in Georgia and its “significant progress” on the way to NATO membership.
The document also highlights the “fruitful work” within the framework of the NATO-Georgia Commission.
It points out the meeting between PM Irakli Garibashvili and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the bloc’s headquarters in Brussels in April, where Georgia's accession and the necessity of continuing democratic reforms were discussed.
“The Georgian side is actively working to ensure Georgia's presence and proper representation at the 2023 Vilnius Summit [of the alliance]”, the document also stresses.
Alec Shelbrooke, the head of the British Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, on Sunday said Georgia's place was in the “Euro-Atlantic space” and noted the country must continue implementing its reforms to prepare for an eventual membership in the alliance.
The Georgian Parliamentary delegation is participating in the Spring Session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Parliamentary Assembly in Luxembourg between Saturday and Monday, attending the Assembly’s committees and holding bilateral meetings with the delegations of the member states of the Alliance.
James Appathurai, the NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, on Wednesday said he did not have an “exact answer” when Georgia would become a NATO member country, but noted it was “clear” that “sooner or later” it would happen, highlighting the country as “one of the closest partners” for the alliance.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, on Tuesday described Georgia as “one of closest partners” of the alliance and pledged “continued political and practical support” for the country.
Georgia has “steadfastly” continued to support Ukraine in political, diplomatic and humanitarian directions since the beginning of Russia's full-scale military aggression against the country, the Georgian Government’s annual report on its work has said.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said the country’s accession to NATO was a “political objective” that was “bringing Georgians together”.
A Georgian delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilia Darchiashvili will participate in the upcoming NATO Summit set to kick off on Tuesday in Lithuania’s capital city of Vilnius.
Archil Talakvadze, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday said Georgia was “strategically ready” for NATO membership and described the country as the alliance’s “reliable partner”, ahead of the bloc’s Summit on Tuesday.