NATO welcomes Georgia’s reform progress
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised Georgia’s ongoing reform efforts on Tuesday (17 January 2017) in talks with the State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Victor Dolidze, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Dondua. The ministers met with the Secretary General before participating in a meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission.
During the NATO-Georgia Commission, Allies also welcomed Georgia’s progress in implementing key reforms, and its conduct of parliamentary elections last October. They further praised Georgia’s major contributions to NATO operations, including the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. The Commission also discussed the implementation of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, launched in 2014 to help Georgia improve its defence capabilities and move towards NATO membership. Several ambassadors highlighted the important work done by the Joint Training and Evaluation Centre, which hosted a NATO-Georgia exercise for the first time in November 2016.
Georgia also briefed the Commission on the security situation in and around the Black Sea. The Secretary General highlighted that, in response to new challenges, NATO is increasing its presence in the Black Sea region with several Allies set to contribute forces and capabilities.