The North Atlantic Council (NAC) will pay a visit to Georgia
Within the framework of the visit, the NATO-Georgia Commission will hold a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister of Georgia and the Deputy Secretary General of NATO.
The North Atlantic Committee and the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, for her part, will hold bilateral meetings with the President of Georgia, Prime Minister, Chairman and members of the Parliament, officials of the Georgian Government. Meetings will be conducted with representatives of the non-governmental sector. The North Atlantic Council will visit two Georgian coast guard vessels in the Batumi Port. On the sidelines of the visit, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO will deliver a lecture at the Batumi State University that is highly important in terms of increasing awareness and involvement of our students, young generation. Chairman of the Ajara Government will also speak before the attending audience.
The NAC pays its fifth visit to Georgia, which is unprecedented in the history of Georgia’s cooperation with the Council’s partner countries and a clear evidence of successively increasing level of relations and intense cooperation between Georgia and the Alliance.
Georgia, as one of the most devoted and interoperable partners of NATO attaches paramount importance to this visit of the North Atlantic Council and its unconditional political support for Georgia’s membership of the Alliance that provides yet another proof of the irreversibility of Georgia’s NATO integration process.
The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the principal political decision-making body within NATO. Therefore, it is important that its members arrive in Georgia in person, to see for themselves Georgia’s progress in strengthening defence capabilities, as well as in successfully delivering democratic reforms.
In the margins of the visit, discussions will focus on all issues relating to Georgia’s membership of the Alliance with special accent on the political dialogue between NATO and Georgia and on the need to further deepen the practical cooperation, including in terms of strengthening Black Sea Security.
The NAC’s fifth visit will also serve as an important signal to our society. The increasing number of the North Atlantic Council’s visits clearly indicate that there are special links of cooperation between the Alliance and Georgia.
The NAC’s visit, which is held prior to the Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government scheduled for December clearly shows that Georgia as a NATO aspirant country is high on the Alliance’s agenda and is a valuable and reliable partner of NATO.
The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the principal political decision-making body within NATO chaired by the NATO Secretary General. It brings together representatives of each member country to discuss policy or operational questions.
This visit serves as a powerful signal of the Alliance’s political support for Georgia.
Deputy Secretary General addresses NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi
Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller outlined the decisions taken by Allied leaders last week in a keynote speech to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi on Monday (29 May 2017). She highlighted that the Alliance is stepping up in the fight against terrorism and making progress on fairer burden-sharing across NATO.
The Deputy Secretary General welcomed that NATO is now a full member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS – a strong symbol of the Alliance’s commitment to the fight against terrorism. NATO AWACS surveillance aircraft will also support the Coalition with airspace management, and a new terrorism intelligence cell at NATO headquarters will improve the sharing of information among Allies. Ms. Gottemoeller stressed that NATO leaders also agreed to do more to ensure fairer burden sharing across the Alliance, with national plans setting out how Allies intend to meet their defence commitments. She highlighted that Montenegro will soon become the 29th member of the Alliance – a clear sign that the door to NATO membership remains open.
The Deputy Secretary General also thanked Georgia for its contributions to NATO, including in Afghanistan. She noted that NATO continues to support Georgia, helping to boost its defence capabilities and to prepare the country for NATO membership. Ms. Gottemoeller added that NPA members play an important role in representing constituents and holding political leaders to account for the decisions they take.
During her visit to Georgia, Ms. Gottemoeller will meet with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze, Defence Minister Levan Izoria and the Chairman of the Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze.
Rose Gottemoeller took up her post as NATO’s Deputy Secretary General
Ms. Rose Gottemoeller took up her post as NATO’s Deputy Secretary General – the Alliance’s second most senior international civil servant – on Monday (17 October 2016). Ms. Gottemoeller most recently served as US Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, advising the Secretary of State on arms control, non-proliferation and political-military affairs.
Ms. Gottemoeller brings a wealth of experience in international security policy to her new role. She served as the chief US negotiator of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the Russian Federation, which entered into force in February 2011. She has also held senior posts at the US Department of Energy, and leadership roles at the Carnegie Moscow Center and the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
Ms. Gottemoeller is the first woman to serve as NATO’s Deputy Secretary General, and succeeds Ambassador Alexander Vershbow of the United States, who held the post from February 2012.
