Defence Minister of Georgia Met with her Polish Counterpart
Friday, September 11
Defence Minister of Georgia is holding working visit in the European countries. Minister Tinatin Khidasheli started her visit with the meeting with her Polish counterpart Tomasz Siemoniak. During the meeting the ministers discussed bilateral cooperation in defence sphere between two countries and future plans of cooperation. Poland actively supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia and its aspirations towards integration into EU and NATO. During the meeting the Defence Ministers assessed the Georgia’s stand on the road towards NATO integration and emphasized the importance of Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, which contributes to the enhancement of defence capabilities and interoperability with the organization. The sides discussed the importance of the upcoming NATO 2016 "Warsaw Summit". It is important to accurately understand the real situation in Europe and the severity of the challenges that Georgia faces today. According to the statement of Tinatin Khidasheli, Georgia naturally represents the most important component of common European security architecture and it is impermissible to discuss discretely the threats which Georgia faces today. On this road, the Eastern European states consolidated position and support for Georgia's NATO integration process is essential.
At the end of the meeting, Polish side confirmed to be in lead of Military Police Capabilities Development Direction in the framework of NATO-Georgia Substantial Package. Meanwhile, the Defence Ministers noted that the Republic of Poland will further expand the capabilities of the Georgian Armed Forces and will provide additional slots for the Georgian Military Servicemen in English Language Training Courses. This will increase the interoperability of the Georgian Armed Forces with the NATO.
On the sideline of the visit to Poland, Defence Minister of Georgia participated in the 25th Economic Forum in Krynica “The role and the importance of Georgia in common European security architecture”. Tinatin Khidasheli addressed to the European leaders, large international organizations, experts and representatives of the Parliament and non-governmental organizations.
According to the key massage articulated by Tinatin Khidasheli, illumination of Georgia in Europe through such international high level forums and stands like the 25th Economic Forum in Krynica holds the utmost importance.
According to her, along with the Georgian issues on the Security Plenary Session were discussed security challenges facing Europe and Euro-Atlantic Alliance, future plans and prospects for the development of the alleged events. The Minister, in the frames of the Security Plenary Session once again reminded European leaders, that the events emerging in the Ukrainian crisis are the sequel of the Military Aggression of Russia towards Georgia in 2008, which continues even today in the form of “creeping occupation”.
