Minister of Defense Irakli Gharibashvili Visits the United States

On November 25, 2019 Georgian Minister of Defense Irakli Gharibashvili completed an official visit to the United States, the US Embassy to Georgia has reported. 

Minister Gharibashvili was welcomed to the Pentagon with an Armed Forces Salute and capped off his visit to the Pentagon with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

“The highlights of Gharibashvili’s visit were meeting with United States Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist and the signing of the Bilateral Security Cooperation Framework,“ reads the information provided by the US Embassy in Tbilisi.

During his Pentagon visit, Minister Gharibashvili also met with the Honorable Alex Beehler, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and the Environment, to discuss his infrastructure development initiative. He presented Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper with the Medal of Kakutsa Cholokashvili as well. 

Prior to arriving in Washington DC, Minister Gharibashvili, as reported by the Embassy “attended the 25th Anniversary of the State Partnership Program celebration with The Adjutant General of the Georgia National Guard, visited Fort Benning, and was awarded the Oglethorpe Award for supporting Georgia’s strong strategic partnership with the United States.”  It’s important to note that the Oglethorpe Award is the highest award the State of Georgia can present to civilians.

By Nini Dakhundaridze

Image source: The US Embassy