Nov 2 2019

Allied Air Command Conducts Second Workshop With Georgian Partners

TBILISI, Georgia – The Georgian Defence Forces hosted the second workshop with representatives from NATO’s Allied Air Command at Tbilisi, the Capital of Georgia on 29 and 30 October to further develop their Air Surveillance capabilities and strengthen the momentum of the partnership process in the air domain.

With this second workshop in Tbilisi, the course of developing closer security cooperation and interoperability with NATO members continues following a meeting at Allied Air Command’s Headquarters in Ramstein, Germany, in July.

Maintaining a constant engagement with our Partners is paramount to keep the process going and to move forward on the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package

“The Georgian Defence Forces have made very good progress since Allied Air Command specialists started the programme in autumn 2018,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ricky Kerch, member of Allied Air Command and leader of the workshop. “The workshop supports our partners in becoming more interoperable with NATO; it offers a unique possibility to share best practices and to further develop Georgian air surveillance capabilities,” he added.

During the workshop, Georgia presented their final National Defence Strategy draft and elaborated on their National Level of Ambition. Air-specific discussions took place based on an update of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package Air Defence Action Plan aimed at achieving robust Air Defence structures that are interoperable with NATO tactics, techniques and procedures.

“Maintaining a constant engagement with our Partners is paramount to keep the process going and to move forward on the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package - a set of initiatives endorsed at the September 2014 Wales Summit, aimed at strengthening Georgia’s defence capabilities,” said Lieutenant Colonel Kerch.

“In this spirit the workshop series supports the principle of more NATO in Georgia and more Georgia in NATO”, he summarised the fruitful cooperation and discussions during the event.

NATO-Georgia partnership is important to the Alliance, and the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package is a key tool to support Georgia’s defence reforms. Allied Air Command contributes to this overall effort by organising these workshops with a focus on the Air domain.

Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office

A series of briefings served to inform NATO representatives on the progress the Georgian Defence Forces have made especially in the area of Air Surveillance Capabilities. Photos courtesy Georgian Defence Forces

The head of the Allied Air Command visit team, Lieutenant Colonel Ricky Kerch (third from right) hands over a present to the acting Deputy Chief of Defence of the Georgian Defence Forces, Brigadier General Irakli Dzneladze. Photos courtesy Georgian Defence Forces