Ministry of Defence of Georgia
June 26, 2013
North Atlantic Council (NAC) visit to Georgia/Meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission 2013
At the invitation of the Georgian authorities, the North Atlantic Council will visit Georgia on 26-27 June 2013. The NATO Delegation will be chaired by NATO Secretary General Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen. It will be the third visit of the NAC to Georgia in the last five years. The NAC visit attests to the intensive relations and successful cooperation between Georgia and the Alliance.
In the framework of the visit, the NATO-Georgia Commission will be held with the participation of Georgian Prime-Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. The NAC will meet with the President of Georgia and members of the Parliament. In the framework of the visit, the Secretary General will hold bilateral meetings with the Georgian Prime-Minister, the President, the Chairman of the Parliament, the leader of the Parliamentary minority and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Secretary General will have a working dinner with the Minister of Defence and the Secretary of the Security Council. The NATO Secretary General will also deliver a speech at the National Library in a meeting with students, and will greet Georgian soldiers prior to their departure for participation in the ISAF mission in Afganistan.
NATO Ambassadors will also hold meetings with the representatives of non-governmental and international organizations and the media.
The North Atlantic Council held its first visit to Georgia on 15-16 September 2008. In the framework of the visit, the frame document establishing the NATO-Georgia Commission was signed, and the first meeting of the Commission was held. The NATO-Georgia Commission serves as a forum for both political consultations and practical cooperation between Georgia and the Alliance to assist Georgia in achieving its goal of integration into NATO. The Commission facilitates political dialogue between the Alliance and Georgia and deepens cooperation on all relevant levels.
The second NAC visit to Georgia was held on 9-10 November 2011. The meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission adopted a joint statement wherein 28 NATO members welcomed the achievements of Georgia’s reform process, reaffirmed their commitment to the decision of the Bucharest Summit and their strong support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia.
The North Atlantic Council is the principal political decision-making body within NATO. The Council is chaired by the NATO Secretary General. It brings together high level representatives of each member country to discuss policy or operational questions that require collective decisions. All members have an equal right to express their views and share in the consensus on which decisions are based. The NAC meets at least every week, and often more frequently, at the level of permanent representatives; it meets twice a year at the level of ministers of foreign affairs, three times a year at the level of ministers of defence, and occasionally at the summit level, with the participation of prime ministers and heads of state and government.
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