NATO and the former Soviet republic are now cooperating very closely.

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Thomson, Commander of NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM), and Georgian Army Col. Nikoloz Janjgava, First Deputy of Georgia Defence Forces (GDF), signed a letter of cooperation at the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre in Krtsanisi National Training Centre, March 29th, 2019.

During the closing ceremony of NATO-Georgia Exercise 2019, Thomson shared a few words.

“History teaches us that strength deters aggression,” Thomson said.

“Given today’s complex, dynamic and uncertain security environment, it is vital to be ready and strong. Strength not only comes from economic might or military might, but it also depends on trusted friends. In Georgia, we have extraordinary friends, and for that, NATO is exceptionally grateful.”

Janjgava agreed according to the news release.

“This exercise has proved to be very productive and well-coordinated in terms of sharing experience and improving efficiency of the GDF through practical application of NATO exercise planning and execution processes,” he said.

“We are able to conclude that the exercise fulfilled its objectives, which are to enhance our capabilities to plan and execute multinational crisis response operations and to further improve our interoperability with the Allied staffs.”

NATO say that the purpose of the letter is to establish the framework for future cooperation between NATO’s LANDCOM and the GDF in the land domain.