27th Anniversary of Georgia’s Armed Forces
The Georgian Prime Minister addressed soldiers and attendees at a ceremony to celebrate 27 Years of the Georgian Armed Forces today.
"27 years ago today, independent Georgia drafted its first soldiers to serve in its Armed Forces," the PM said. "It was the day when the Georgian army continued the tradition established in 1918 by the first independent republic, marking a heroic, albeit short-lived, portion in the history of Georgia’s Armed Forces in which we take great pride. Like 100 years ago, Georgian fighters have had to engage in numerous battles for the country’s unity. Loyalty and selfless service to the homeland is what has always turned our soldiers into heroes. I would like to pay homage to the memory of the soldiers fallen for Georgia’s unity," he said.
He went on to thank each service member of Georgia’s Armed Forces for "duly protecting our country’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. With your strong and unwavering spirit of the Georgian soldier, you are risking your lives serving and protecting our homeland and the national interests of our state," he said.
The might of the Georgian state lies largely within the might if its army," he noted. "This is why the support we receive from our partners is so important. Today, on this square, the flags of many of our partner countries is flown. I would like to emphasize the support of the United States of America. America’s solidarity is unprecedented, indeed. The US is Georgia’s strategic partner supporting our country’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations."
He highlighted that US-Georgia bilateral defense relations seek to ensure robust and reliable defense capabilities.
"These relations are deepening further, becoming increasingly dynamic, as clearly exemplified by the Memorandum on Deepening the Defense and Security Partnership between the United States of America and Georgia signed at the highest level in 2016, the Three-Year Framework Agreement on Security, and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Georgia Defense Readiness Program (GDRP)," he said.
The First Georgian Squad was present at the ceremony. The PM noted that they will engage in training under the GDRP this May, a three-year program starting this year to train a total of nine maneuver battalions.
In addition, the development of the Military Training Center, to train and evaluate troops, continues.
He concluded by noting that the Government of Georgia is "sparing no effort" to provide its service members with decent conditions. "Caring for the homeland’s loyal children, our soldiers, is the state’s foremost duty," he said.