PM & President at NATO-Georgia military drills
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, November 18
Georgia’s President, Giorgi Margvelashvili, and Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili attended a joint North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-Georgia multi-national military exercise near Tbilisi on Thursday.
Georgian officials noted that this is the first time that NATO-GEO joint drills are led by the Georgian side.
The PM and the President also made comments in response to Russia’s recent statements that the joint drills pose a threat to regional peace and stability.
“The process of enhancement of our self-defensive capacity is not against anyone at all,” stated the President.
Margvelashvili underlined the significance of holding the training in Georgia, remarking that it serves global security.
“Georgia, as a country which has a very clear vision in terms of stability and security, once again proves it is a very responsible partner for NATO, which is eager to prove its readiness for promoting global security,” the President added.
PM Kvirikashvili also delivered a speech at the Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC) in Krtsanisi and noted that the training is another confirmation of Georgia’s unshakeable Euro-Atlantic course and NATO-Georgia close relationship and thanked all the representatives of the 11 allies and 2 partner countries, whose servicemen also participate in the exercise.
“Such trainings allow us to contribute more significantly to international security. The NATO-Georgia cooperation is aimed at regional peace, stability and development in which all should be interested,” the PM stated.
Kvirikashvili said he was proud that Georgia was chosen as a place for such a high-level military exercise.
“I am sure that the exercises will be held at a very high level and will be useful and successful for all participants,” he said.
The joint training will last from November 10 to November 20, and it is the first NATO-Georgia joint multinational brigade-level, Computer Assisted, Command Post exercise (CAX/CPX), which is included in NATO's exercise list.
The exercise is testing the interoperability of Georgian, allied and partner forces, as well as command and control capabilities. This is the second NATO-Georgia exercise to take place through the SNGP (substantial NATO-Georgia Package) framework - a series of 13 defense capacity building measures agreed between Georgia and NATO at the Wales summit in 2014.
In total, 350 military servicemen take part in the training.
