Day two of the NATO-Georgia Public Diplomacy Forum in Tbilisi has opened with President Giorgi Margvelashvili and Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli addressing guests about why Georgia wants to be part of NATO and why NATO should want Georgia as a member.

"Georgia has never spared any effort for global stability and these efforts were not only expressed through political statements but through our soldiers’ participation in various international missions,” President Margvelashvili said.

He strongly believed Georgia’s future was within Euro-Atlantic structures.

"We clearly see our country’s cultural and political future in the European Union. We clearly see NATO as a security umbrella under which we should, and we will unite and strengthen it by our participation and we will bring more peace to the countries in our region and worldwide,” Margvelashvili said.

A large part of the President’s speech was devoted to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Margvelashvili called on neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan to do their best to end the conflict with minimal tension. He said diplomacy and the global community’s involvement would be the best way to resolve the ongoing issue.

Meanwhile Defence Minister Khidasheli spoke about what she believed Georgia deserved to receive at the NATO Summit scheduled in Warsaw, Poland in summer.

"Our goal is for Georgia to be far stronger after the Warsaw Summit than it is today,” Khidasheli said.

She noted Georgia should not be seen as a threat but as an opportunity.

.@tinakhidasheli#Georgia has been a loyal and reliable Nato partner in Caucasus for two decades #NATOGeoPDForumpic.twitter.com/l8WMSnxn5c — Mariam Takaishvili (@mtakaishvili) April 5, 2016

"For the past two decades Georgia has been a reliable and loyal partner for NATO and has been trying to prove how important it is to have a stable partner in the Caucasus,” the Minister said.

United States (US) Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly voiced supportive messages for Georgia at today’s NATO-Georgia forum.

"NATO has said Georgia has all necessary tools to enter the alliance. We expect that NATO’s Warsaw Summit will help Georgia. We support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic path,” the Ambassador said.

The NATO-Georgia Public Diplomacy Forum, which opened yesterday, marked the beginning of NATO Week 2016 in Georgia.

NATO Week 2016 will last until April 19 and will feature a number of educational and cultural events to raise NATO awareness in Tbilisi and across the country.