Results of NATO-Georgia Commission Meeting
Thursday, February 12
The meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission in the Defence Minister Session was held at NATO HQ. The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delivered the opening remarks at the meeting.
“NATO and Georgia have a strong and very active partnership and NATO allies are very committed to deepening that partnership further. We support Georgia’s territorial integrity within its internationally-recognized borders and its sovereign right to choose its own future, including its security alliances. At our last summit in Wales in September, we endorsed a substantial package of measures to strengthen Georgia’s defence and its ability to work side-by-side with NATO forces. We have made very good progress in implementing that package. We will give a further push to that important work to help Georgia look after its own security and to move closer to NATO membership.”
Minister of Defence of Georgia Mindia Janelidze made a speech at the NGC meeting. He talked about the security environment in the region and existing challenges. The Defence Minister informed his colleagues about the ongoing defence reforms and future plans of development. According to Janelidze, the transformation priorities for the next year will include streamlining the defence management system, developing defence capabilities and enhancing NATO interoperability and international cooperation.
Implementation of the NATO-Georgia Substantial Package is of the utmost importance among defence priorities.
After the NGC meeting, the sides issued a joint statement. The sides noted clear progress in implementing the Substantial Package. As it is outlined in the document, Georgia has made significant progress since the Bucharest Summit and has come closer to NATO. NATO Ministers expressed strong appreciation for Georgia’s sizable contribution to NATO’s operations and missions. They condemned steps taken by Russia which are in breach of Russia’s international obligations and commitments and contradict the principles of international law.
