BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 17
Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
NATO’s partnership with Georgia remains strong and close, an unnamed NATO official told Trend.
"This is reflected in the visit by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to NATO Headquarters in March, shortly after his new appointment. Despite the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, we have maintained a substantial level of political dialogue with Georgia – including through the NATO-Georgia Commission. So far this year, we have had meetings of the NATO-Georgia Commission with President Salome Zourabichvili (in January), with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili (in March), and with Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze (in June)," the official said.
According to him, NATO also maintains a strong level of practical cooperation, including with support from NATO Liaison Office in Tbilisi and through the activities of the Joint Training and Evaluation Centre.
The Georgian government has clearly stated that integration into NATO continues to be a top foreign policy and security objective for the country, and Allies have extended Georgia’s status as Enhanced Opportunity Partner for another three years, the official noted.
Relations between NATO and Georgia dating back to 1992 when Georgia joined the North-Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC). The latter was replaced by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in 1997 as a forum for discussions between NATO and partners.
In 1994, Georgia joined the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program and since 1996, the country has been actively participating in training and exercises within program.
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