“Together with our partners, such training exercises provide Georgian soldiers with the opportunity to defend their uniform with dignity, as Georgia’s role in global peace must be strengthened more and more and ultimately, with the help of such training exercises and by increasing our compatibility we, together with our partners, must achieve the final Euro-Atlantic integration of the country,” said Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia at the opening ceremony of Noble Partner 2020.

“We must all understand that this is yet another clear example of our strategic partner’s support and our common aspirations. When I see up to 2,800 soldiers, military servicemen here and imagine how effective and dignified their joint training exercises will be, of course, we have to express our thanks to our partners, first of all the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Poland,” noted PM.

According to him, the knowledge that the soldiers will receive should be used in unison to establish global peace.

“Training is the most important component of our army in order to render the Euro-Atlantic integration of Georgia, this country, ultimately achievable. We must improve the condition, the equipment, and the well-being of our troops on a daily basis and such training exercises are the guarantee of peace for each and every citizen of Georgia and for our country, our state.

In addition, as you know, Georgian military forces are actively participating in various peacekeeping missions under the aegis of both the European Union and the United States – under the aegis of our international partners – and we all understand that such training exercises provide our soldiers with the opportunity to defend their uniform with dignity, as Georgia’s role in global peace must be strengthened more and more and ultimately, with the help of such training exercises and by increasing our compatibility we, together with our partners, must achieve the final Euro-Atlantic integration of the country,” stressed Gakharia.

Multinational training exercise Noble Partner 2020 has officially opened today at IV Mechanized Brigade, Vaziani. More than 2700 military service members will take part in it.

This year, military personnel from four NATO member countries – the USA, the UK, Poland and France will take part in the multinational military exercise along with the Georgian soldiers.

U.S. participation will include elements from 2nd Cavalry Regiment, 18th Military Police Brigade, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 12th and 101st Combat Aviation Brigades, 148th Brigade Support Battalion, 177th Brigade Engineer Battalion (Georgia National Guard), 7th Army Training Command, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, 409th Contracting Support Brigade, 598th Transportation Brigade, 37th Airlift Squadron, 52nd Expeditionary Operations Group Detachment 2, 118th Wing (Tennessee Air National Guard), and 165th Air Support Operations Squadron (Georgia Air National Guard).

Noble Partner is a cooperatively-led multinational training exercise in its fifth iteration which is aimed to enhance Georgian, U.S. and partner forces readiness and interoperability, as well as to contribute to maintaining stable and secure environment over the Black Sea region.

The main message of the Noble Partner is – “Strength through Partnership”.