NATO-Georgian Joint Training & Evaluation Center Celebrates Three Years

The NATO-Georgian Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC) marked the third anniversary since its foundation. Minister of Defense of Georgia Levan Izoria attended a solemn ceremony dedicated to the establishment of the Center and addressed the staff members.

He drew attention to the main role of the Center in Georgia's integration into NATO, and thanked the Georgian side and international partners for contributing so much to its establishment and development. He also and talked about the importance of expansion.

"We have special recognition, confirmed by statements made by the NATO Secretary General's Special Representative James Appathurai, where on the basis of this success, there exists the possibility of enlarging the initiative, expressed in more NATO-Georgia practical cooperation, in the provision of more NATO principles. We have specific perspectives on how to transform the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package," he said.

According to the Minister, the development of the JTEC will help to achieve a strategic goal: Georgia's NATO membership. Minister Izoria emphasized the importance of the joint exercises conducted in 2019, which were hosted by JTEC, and the fact that the planning and execution of training was organized by the Georgian side. In 2022, joint training is planned, which will be implemented in a new format with new elements.

JTEC is the most important and successful initiative of 14 projects of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP) and provides implemented reform support for the rapid development of the Georgian Defense Forces and ensures compliance with NATO.

JTEC was opened by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on 27 August 2015. In May 2016, the Center was established as a unit of the Georgian Defense Forces Training and Military Education Command.

By Mariam Merabishvili