Ministry of Defence of Georgia
July 4, 2013
South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial
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The purpose of the Ministerial is consolidation of cooperation between the countries of the region and facilitation of their NATO integration…
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This year Georgia is hosting a Deputy Chiefs of Defence Meeting held within the South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial. Within the Ministerial, SEDM Deputy Chiefs of Defence Meeting will officially open tomorrow in “Sheraton” Batumi hotel.
High-ranking military officials from 14 South-East European countries have already arrived in Batumi to attend the Ministerial.
First Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of Georgian Armed Forces, Brigadier-General Vakhtang Kapanadze is hosting the foreign military officials. “SEDM Deputy Chiefs of Defence Meeting is starting tomorrow. Today, an introductory evening will be held between the participants…
This meeting will be important for the development of Georgian Armed Forces and defence system in general as well as in terms of Georgia’s NATO aspirations. Within the SEDM a quadrilateral meeting will be held with participation of Deputy Chiefs of Defence of NATO aspirant countries which is very significant. “A few bilateral meetings will be also arranged where a main topic of discussion will be the NATO-Georgia partnership in the context of Euro-Atlantic integration,” said Brigadier-General Vakhtang Kapanadze.
A solemn reception was arranged for the invited guests on behalf of the Chief of JS of GAF COL Irakli Dzneladze. He thanked the top military officials for arriving in Georgia and hoped that their work will be successful and fruitful: “Although we are an observer nation of the initiative, we are active and keen to be engaged in different cooperation formats that definitely contribute to overcome the challenges we are all facing today and to ensure peace, security and stability in our region and far beyond,” outlined Colonel Dzneladze, while addressing the foreign guests.
First Deputy Defence Minister Levan Dolidze will open the SEDM Deputy Chiefs of Defence Meeting tomorrow. A bilateral meeting is scheduled between Levan Dolidze and Gioacchino Alfano – Undersecretary of State for Defence of Italy and a quadrilateral meeting between Vakhtang Kapanadze and his counterparts from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia.
The South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial was established in October 3, 1997 during the meeting of regional ministers in Sofia under the initiative of the United States. This format serves to promoting [the] Euro-Atlantic integration of the participant nations. The involvement of Georgia in the SEDM as an observer nation is crucial in terms of its Euro-Atlantic aspirations. The purpose of the Ministerial is consolidation of cooperation between the countries of the region and facilitation of their NATO integration on solidarity and democratic values like development of good neighborly relations and cooperation as well as providing decisions acceptable to everyone.
Italy provides chairmanship for the SEDM Deputy Chiefs of Defence Meeting.
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