NATO's James Appathurai Discusses Objectives of Visit to Georgia
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, May 4, 2023
James Appathurai, who serves as NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, discussed the primary objectives of his visit to Georgia. He stressed the significance of democratic nations taking more assertive measures to safeguard their security and uphold their values.
Appathurai also emphasized the importance of increased collaboration between Georgia and NATO to ensure stability, highlighting the country's strategic importance to all NATO allies. Appathurai focused on exploring opportunities for enhanced practical cooperation between NATO and Georgia across various domains.
One of the topics discussed during Appathurai's visit was cyber defense, with a particular emphasis on supporting Georgia in implementing practical mechanisms to enhance its cyber defense capabilities.
"It is a pleasure to be in Georgia, a country that has three main objectives. Firstly, the region and the Euro-Atlantic area have been significantly impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is crucial that democratic countries maintain close cooperation and take proactive measures to protect our shared security and values. For all NATO allies, Georgia is an important country, and it is crucial that we collaborate closely to ensure stability. My visit here is in the context of this goal.
Recent studies have indicated that the Georgian people strongly uphold democratic values and aspire to Euro-Atlantic integration, which makes me feel welcome and at home here," Appathurai said.
The focus of the discussions was to identify areas where both parties could work together more effectively. They discussed practical cooperation in various fields, including energy security, as Georgia and the region have become more important to Euro-Atlantic energy security. They want to ensure that Georgia's energy security is protected.
"At the meetings, we also discussed practical cooperation in various fields. One of the directions is energy security. As NATO member states have managed to find ways to diversify away from Russian gas and oil, Georgia and the region have become more important to Euro-Atlantic energy security. We want to make sure it is protected." Appathurai said.
Appathurai talked about the importance of increasing cooperation between Georgia and NATO in various fields such as energy security and cyber defense. He emphasized the need to protect critical infrastructure under the Black Sea and to implement practical mechanisms for cyber security. Appathurai mentioned ongoing projects that aim to increase Georgia's transit role in energy and digital directions through the Black Sea and highlighted the role of the National Security Council in coordinating work in this direction.
"I know that there are important projects on the way that will increase Georgia's transit role in energy and digital directions through the Black Sea. We want to work together for the security of critical infrastructure under the Black Sea, which is at risk and we must do more to protect it. We also talked about increasing practical cooperation when it comes to cyber defense. I was in the National Security Council, which has the most important role in coordinating work in this direction. This topic was also discussed in the Ministry of Defense to help Georgia implement practical mechanisms to work on cyber security, which is also a part of wider cyber security," stated Appathurai.
During his visit to Georgia, James Appathurai met with representatives of government and opposition parties in parliament to discuss the need for reforms to continue. He noted that while progress has been made, high political polarization is hindering the implementation of some reforms.
Appathurai expressed disappointment that the situation has not improved in this regard despite ongoing political polarization for many years. He emphasized the importance of making progress before the NATO summit in July, as Georgia's engagement with the alliance and broader integration topics will be discussed.
Appathurai expressed his satisfaction with many of the reforms already implemented but stressed that much more needs to be done together. He also committed to bringing the country closer to NATO and looked forward to many more high-level NATO visits to Georgia.
