Georgian PM: new defence code “of national importance”
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday hailed the country’s new defence code adopted in late September. Photo: Government press office
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday hailed the country’s recently adopted defence code as being of “national importance” and said the Defence Ministry would be “fully authorised” to ensue compulsory military conscription starting from 2025.
In his comments at the weekly Government meeting, the official said the code approved by the Parliament with its third and final reading in late September offered six-, eight- and 12-month training programmes for recruits in accordance with their career decisions.
He noted the county would have 10,000 trained reservists in “three to four years” after the launch of the programme, with the figure reaching 100,000 in 10 years.
The PM highlighted students would be allowed to apply for military training during their student years and join a four-year programme with intensive training courses taking up only one month of their time annually.
Garibashvili stressed the code also prevented evasion of compulsory service through the use of a “clergyman’s certificate” - an option offered by the Girchi opposition party in 2017 that enabled those due for the service to obtain a religious title from an organisation launched by the party and receive postponement of the service - which he called a “harmful scheme”.
The new defence code offers religious service exemptions to priests of the Orthodox Church of Georgia only.
Georgia’s total defence strategy and deterrence policy are aimed at “maximum strengthening” of the country’s self-defence capabilities based on “existing needs and absence of international security umbrellas”, Deputy Defence Minister Grigol Giorgadze told the Georgian Public Broadcaster on Tuesday.
Juansher Burchuladze, the Georgian Defence Minister, on Monday said his body was working to increase remuneration for reservists called up for annual training and use the pay increases to ensure voluntary annual service would effectively replace mandatory call-ups by 2025.
Grigol Giorgadze, the Georgian Deputy Defence Minister, on Tuesday told the Parliament the country’s new Defence Code had been developed with an “active engagement” of foreign partners, and said the document was expected to increase Georgia’s interoperability with NATO.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday announced “major changes” to the country’s defence system as part of the new defence code, which includes full transition of the compulsory military service to the Ministry of Defence mandate, requirement for the state to provide accommodation for servicemembers and their families, a “more flexible” military reserve system for students and moves to prevent evasion of service.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said his office would reveal a new decision about the regulation of the pension system for the country’s law enforcement and defence sector, pledging to ensure additional efforts for providing “decent working conditions” to employees in his comments for Veterans’ Day.