Georgia to have highly professional army meeting NATO standards by 2017
By Nazrin Gadimova
Georgia's Defense Minister Irakli Alasania has held a meeting with military attaches and analysts of Swedish and Turkish embassies.
Alasania and his deputy Tamar Karosanidze informed the guests about ongoing reforms in the Ministry, the Georgian Defense Ministry said on September 26.
According to Alasania, Georgia will have a highly professional army meeting NATO standards by 2017. He also spoke about the high level of transparency which was achieved in the ministry over the last year.
In turn, Deputy Chief of the Georgian Armed Forces' Joint Staff, Colonel Vladimir Chachibaya spoke about the reforms in the Joint Staff, describing Georgia's military education system as "one of the best in the region". He expressed a desire to cooperate with the Swedish Defense Ministry in this sphere.
According to the Georgian Defense Ministry, during the meeting the sides talked about Georgia's transit role after the completion of ISAF mission and the region's security.
At the end of the meeting Alasania thanked Sweden for a political support to Georgia and urged to intensify bilateral cooperation between the countries.
Georgia as a significant contributor to the Euro-Atlantic security is closely involved in NATO-led operations and its contribution to the ISAF operation in Afghanistan is of significant importance. Presently Georgia is the second largest troop contributor to Afghanistan among the non-NATO states.