Georgian Defence Minister highlights “active” cooperation with US Defence Department

Georgian Defence Minister Irakli Chikovani on Wednesday said the cooperation between his office and the United States Department of Defence remained “active” on the backdrop of challenges in bilateral relations created following the adoption of the domestic controversial law on transparency of the foreign influence by the Georgian Parliament earlier this year that was criticised by American officials.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Chikovani noted the Georgian Government had maintained its “clear and principled stance” over the matter “in the best interest of Georgian citizens”.

Everyone will see that this is a law based on one of the main democratic principles - transparency. Everyone will see that when this law is effective, it will not serve the interest of any particular party or politician, but will serve the enhancement of our public, our democratic processes”, the Minister said.

The official further stressed transparency was an “essential component of politics”.

“Today we see that the non-governmental sector, the media, has the most important and greatest influence in the formation of public opinion. And while we have the highest standards of transparency across the political spectrum, the transparency law is a step toward exactly that”, he continued.

Chikovani also noted the country’s defence capability was “one of the most important sectors” and added it had experienced “significant growth over the years” under the current Government.