The ongoing reform process in the field of defence, the progress achieved in defence transformation and the tasks to be implemented in future were the key topics Minister of Defence of Georgia highlighted during the meeting with Chairman of NATO Military Committee General Petr Pavel. In the framework of two-day visit of the NATO MS delegation, General Petr Pavel held the first meeting in Ministry of Defence attended by First Deputy Minister Lela Chikovani, Chief of the GS of the GAF Brigadier General Vladimer Chachibaia and Head of the Georgian Mission to NATO Aleksandre Maisuradze. Security situation and challenges faced by Georgia, its engagement in the context of Black Sea security were focused on during discussions. As Defence Minister underlined, Georgia is the most interoperable and reliable partner of NATO in the region providing a significant contribution to the Euro-Atlantic and international security operations. The sides also stressed importance of NATO-Georgia cooperation mechanisms and Substantial NATO-Georgia Package implementation. Minister Levan Izoria thanked NATO MS Chairman for significant practical assistance provided by NATO nations promoting enhancement of defence capabilities of the GAF and NATO interoperability According to Minister, senior military authority of NATO conducted the meeting in Georgia for the second time in Georgia`s history which is a visible demonstration for its unwavering support towards Georgia`s sovereignty, territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. The meeting with General Petr Pavel and senior NATO military representatives continued in an extended format. After the meeting, Minister and Chairman of NATO Military Committee held a press-conference with media representatives and answered the questions around NATO-Georgia cooperation and future plans of partnership.

On March 2-3, NATO Military Committee (MC) will visit Georgia. Chairman of MC, General Petr Pavel will lead the 28 senior NATO Military Representatives, accompanied by the Montenegrin Military Representative, to Georgia. Chief of General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Vladimer Chachibaia will host the high-level military representatives.
The Military Committee is the senior military authority in NATO and the oldest permanent body in NATO after the North Atlantic Council, both having been formed months after the Alliance came into being. It is the primary source of military advice to NATO’s civilian decision-making bodies – the North Atlantic Council and the Nuclear Planning Group.
NATO Military Committee is visiting Georgia for the second time. NATO Military Committee’s visit to Georgia is a strong message from the Alliance who continues to support Georgia’s integration and its efforts towards membership to NATO. It is also another demonstration of NATO-Georgia intensive and successful cooperation. This visit is a unique opportunity to discuss military issues, progress in GAF’s transformation, get first hand impression on the ground and further NATO-Georgia relations at the highest level.
The Military Committee visit follows high level events last year including the North Atlantic Council visit in September and the successful conduct of the second NATO Georgia Exercise in October. The most recent NATO-Georgia Commission was held at the Defence Ministers meeting this February, where Ministers discussed the regional security situation and increased measures in the Black Sea. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly will be held in Georgia in May 2017
Within the framework of the two-day long visit to Georgia, Chairman of NATO Military Committee, General Petr Pavel will hold tete-a-tete meetings with President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime-Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Defense Minister Levan Izoria and Chief of General Staff of the GAF, Brigadier General Vladimer Chachibaia. The Military Committee in Permanent Session meeting with the participation of Georgia will be held in the hotel “Radisson Blu Iveria”. During the visit, NATO Military Representatives will also visit NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC) to attend pre-deployment training of the Georgian military unit to “Resolute Support” mission in Afghanistan. The Chairman accompanied by the Military Committee will also participate in wreath laying ceremonies to pay their respects to those who have paid the ultimate price defending peace and freedom. The NATO Military Representatives will also have the opportunity to visit Davit Agmashenebeli National Defense Academy.
Media representatives interested in covering the events scheduled within the framework of  NATO Military Committee Visit to Georgia can request  accreditation at the Defence Ministry of Georgia from February 23 including February 28 up to 13:00. The accreditation cards will be issued from March 2 until the beginning of the event/visit.

I Infantry Brigade Company of Ministry of Defence of Georgia left for Afghanistan to engage in Resolute Support Mission at Camp Marmal in Mazar-i-Sharif. Minister of Defence of Georgia Levan Izoria and Chief of the General Staff of the GAF Brigadier General Vladimir Chachibaia bade farewell to the Company. I Infantry Brigade Company will replace the Reinforced Company of II Infantry Brigade under rotation. The Georgian military unit will be fulfilling the mission under the command of Major Mikheil Mezvrishvili for 7 months as part of the German military forces in Afghanistan.
“We bade farewell to the Reinforced Company going to deploy to Marar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan. The Company underwent the best training course in Germany for five months and will fulfill the mission under the command of German military forces. I have already visited Mazar-i-Sharif for the second time and received a high appreciation from German Generals about the performance of the Georgian soldiers”, said Minister Levan Izoria.
“I would like to wish the military servicemen successful accomplishment of the mission and safe return to the motherland. They will have to fulfill a very significant mission to Mazar-i-Sharif. They will be tasked with providing a fast response as part of their duty. Our military unit has recently coped with a very difficult task successfully when they evacuated the representatives of German Diplomatic Corps safely and prevented a terrorist attack,” said Chief of the General Staff of the GAF Brigadier General Vladimer Chachibaia.
The Company underwent pre-deployment preparation for the RSM mission first in Georgia, Manavi-based Rangers` Training School for three months and after that –in Germany for five months under the guidance of German instructors. The pre-deployment training was divided into three phases. The soldiers  went through individual, squad, platoon and company-level preparation including medical, shooting, engineer and communication training. The Company conducted a tactical training at platoon and company levels twice under the command of German instructors. The training scenario was closer to a real situation.
“Reinforced Company of I Infantry Brigade will fulfill the Resolute Support Mission at the Camp Marmal  in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. We will be tasked with  fast response operations. We will e deployed in Afghanistan for 7 months and our task will be providing immediate support and assistance for the allied and local security forces”, stated Military Unit Commander Major Mikheil Mezvrishvili.

Chief of the General Staff of the GAF Brigadier General Vladimer Chachibaia held the first meeting with the military personnel in West Georgia. When visiting III Infantry Brigade, Chief of the GS familiarized the military service members with ongoing defence transformation process and underlined that optimization mainly refers to the civil personnel in the GAF.  According to Brigadier General, 67 % of the budget falls on salaries and administrative expenses. After the optimization this indicator will change and the free surplus expenses will be directed towards strengthening the military potential. The main goal of the reforms is to promote enhancement of defence capabilities of the Georgian army.
III Infantry Brigade Commander LTC Ronald Kiknavelidze informed Brigadier General about the ongoing activities in the Brigade.
Chief of the GS, after completing the visit in Kutaisi, made tour of the 31st Battalion of III Infantry Brigade in Batumi.
With the purpose of introducing ongoing transformation process in the GAF, Chief of Defence will visit all the military units of West Command and will hold meetings with their leadership.

 

The President of Georgia, H.E. Giorgi Margvelashvili and the Secretary of the National Security Council Mr. Davit Rakviashvili have met with Vladimer Chachibaia,  the nominated candidate for the position of Chief of General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces.
The meeting was held following the assembly of the National Security Council. Mr. Chachibaia has presented his views and future plans to the President and the Secretary. The President will inform the Parliament about his decision concerning the candidate tomorrow.