Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

The British Armed Forces and Ministry of Defense will support the Georgian Armed Forces and the ongoing reforms, Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania has said, the Georgian Defense Ministry website reported on Tuesday.

"Our vision on transformation of the armed forces was very interesting for the British side, and sharing their experience was very valuable for us," Alasania said. "We agreed on strengthening the bilateral cooperation. We [also] agreed to cooperate in the field of education, as well in various military directions regarding our joint activities in Afghanistan."

Alasania held meetings with Andrew Murrison, Minister for International Security Strategy, David Clarke, Deputy Head SSDAT, Security and Justice Group, and Steve McCarthy, Director of International Security Policy at the UK Ministry of Defense.

The parties discussed the issues of deepening defense cooperation between Georgia and Britain during the meetings. The ongoing reforms in the Georgian Defense Ministry and the armed forces were also discussed. The leadership of the UK Defense Ministry informed the Georgian delegation of its views regarding the reforming and optimizing of British Armed Forces. The sides also touched upon Georgia's NATO integration.

We recall that the Georgian Defense Ministry delegation led by Alasania is on a three day visit to the UK. Deputy chief of the Georgian Armed Forces Joint Staff, Colonel Vladimer Chachibaia accompanied the delegation.

Chachibaia held a meeting with General Sir David Richards, Chief of British Defence Staff. The discussions included issues of defense cooperation between Georgia and Britain. They touched upon the possibilities of Georgian and British servicemen's joint participation in the period following the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan.

General Richards thanked the Georgian side for the bravery of Georgian soldiers participating in the international mission in Afghanistan.

On the first day of the visit Alasania held meetings with Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Chairman of the UK parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, and James Arbuthnot, MP, Chairman of the Select Defence Committee. The sides discussed NATO-Georgia relationship and the issues of cooperation between Georgia and the UK in the defense field.

"We discussed general political situation in Georgia, which changed after the parliamentary elections of October 1, 2012, and stable development of political processes underway in Georgia," Alasania said after the meetings. "Our partners are interested to learn about our long-term plans related to the Euro-Atlantic integration process. We also talked about our contribution to global security and the participation of Georgia in the ISAF mission. We are satisfied with the support Georgia enjoys from the UK in terms of the territorial integrity and NATO integration."

The agenda of the visit to the UK, which ends on Wednesday, includes Europe Minister David Lidington's meeting with the Georgian Defense Minister. Alasania is also to take part in a roundtable discussion planned at the Chatham House, a London-based think-tank.