Meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan
Thursday, March 20
Minister of Defence of Georgia Irakli Alasania hosted Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan H.E. Zarar Ahmad Osmani at the Ministry of Defence of Georgia. At the meeting the sides discussed the prospects of future cooperation between Georgia and Afghanistan. The signature of the Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Defence Cooperation between the Defence Ministries of two countries is scheduled in the nearest future. Development of economical relations was also discussed at the meeting.
The ministers discussed the ongoing NATO-led international operation in Afghanistan and Georgia's engagement in "Resolute Mission" after 2014. They also focused on handover of full security responsibility to the Afghan National Security Forces.
Irakli Alasania reiterated Georgia's commitment to support the local security forces in implementation of reforms. Georgia offers to train the Afghan military servicemen in Georgian military educational institutions.
"We have talked about the political situation in Afghanistan in details, the planned elections and how the Georgian military servicemen will interact with the international community and NATO forces. We also discussed the future prospects of bilateral military cooperation but our relationship should not be only limited to military cooperation. We have offered more economical cooperation and Georgia's transit capabilities to our Afghan colleagues for their economical activities. Consequently, the visit was very timely and proper and we promised to continue cooperation with them after ISAF operation as well," declared Irakli Alasania.
Zarar Ahmad Osmani is paying a two-day official visit to Georgia. In the framework of the visit he has already met with his Georgian counterpart Maia Panjikidze. Meetings are scheduled with the Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili.
