Georgian Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani spoke about Georgia’s NATO integration and results achieved in the defence and security areas during a discussion „NATO Engages: The Alliance at 70 Years, dedicated to the seventieth anniversary of NATO, on the sidelines of the NATO Foreign Ministerial.

The event was co-hosted by the Atlantic Council, the German Marshall Fund and the Munich Security Conference in partnership with NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division in Washington.

According to David Zalkaliani, once the Bucharest Summit’s decisions are translated into practical dimension, Georgia will be able to move ahead with the integration process: “We are developing very close bilateral co-operation with the members of the Alliance and one of the key strategic partners of Georgia – the United States. An unprecedentedly high level of relations with the U.S. in the areas of defence and security contributes to the enhancement of Georgia’s defence capabilities and interoperability with NATO standards. We also closely co-operate with France and Germany and other members of the Alliance and hope that this will bring us even closer to NATO” – Zalkaliani said.

According to the Foreign Minister, NATO-Georgia co-operation dynamics is a clear demonstration of NATO’s recognition that Georgia is atop the Alliance’s political agenda. “Joint exercises conducted in Georgia and participation of NATO’s members and partners in them highlight the importance NATO attaches to co-operation with Georgia. Georgia already has all practical instruments for membership. The launch of the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre, as well as other areas of co-operation, including towards strengthening the Black Sea security ensures even wider representation of NATO in Georgia” – Zalkaliani said.