On 3 October, the 5th session of the North-Atlantic Council (NAC), the principal political decision-making body within the NATO, took place in Batumi, Georgia.

The Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia was delighted that his country had the opportunity to host such an event. “A strong relationship with NATO is the foundation of Georgia’s foreign policy and its security.  Visiting Batumi is symbolic as a new space has recently emerged in collaboration between NATO and Georgia which is related to Black Sea security. We all comprehend that [a] safe Black Sea is a guarantee of a safe Euro-Atlantic space. Since Russia has strengthened [its hold of] the Black Sea, after the annexation of Crimea, NATO’s presence in the Black Sea is critically important,” he said.

Gakharia met with the Deputy Secretary General of NATO Rose Gottemoeller in order to discuss the topics of the Georgia-NATO cooperation. The progress made in the implementation of the Substantial Package, the regional security challenges, the steps toward empowering democratic institutions and the judiciary, and strengthening practical cooperation and partnership in the Black Sea Region were among the discussed topics. “We expect that the cooperation, which has been transformed into Georgia’s highest compatibility with NATO forces, will finally be translated into real results,” said Gakharia.

Gottemoeller on her behalf said that Russia is against Georgian membership in NATO, but the attitude has nothing to do with the position of the alliance. She also expressed her concerns over Russia’s military activeness in the Black Sea region and added “that is why we are strengthening cooperation between Georgia and NATO naval forces”.

The NATO-Georgia Commission adopted a joint 11-point statement where it outlined the future directions of the cooperation. The two main points of the statement are the agreement to refresh and update Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP) in 2020 and the further development of dialogue and practical cooperation in the context of the Black Sea security. The Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP) is a set of initiatives endorsed in 2014, aimed at strengthening Georgia’s defence capabilities and developing closer security cooperation and interoperability with NATO Members. The SNGP comprises support at the strategic, tactical and operational levels across 13 areas: 1) Acquisition; 2) Strategic Operational Planning; 3) Special Operations Forces; 4) Military Police; 5.) Cyber Defence; 6) Maritime Security; 7) Strategic Communications; 8) a Joint Training and Evaluation Centre; 9) Logistic Capability; 10) Intelligence and Communications; 11) a Defence Institution Building School; 12) Aviation and Air Defence and 13) NATO-Georgia Exercises in Georgia open to partners.

In relation to the Black Sea security, the commission agreed to increase NATO’s support for Georgia, including training Georgian Coast Guard boarding teams, enhanced interaction between Georgia’s Coast Guard and NATO’s Standing Naval Forces, port visits, exercises, providing patrol boats and sharing of information to enhance situational awareness.