TBILISI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Georgia will promote military cooperation with the country's key strategic partner, the United States, on an even larger scale, Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria said here Thursday.
At a closed-door meeting with visiting U.S. Army Europe Commander, Lt. General Frederick Ben Hodges, the minister stressed that the Georgia Defense Readiness Program (GDRP) will be carried out through U.S. support in order to strengthen the country's defense capabilities, according to a statement of the Georgian Defense Ministry.
Noting the importance of the program, Izoria said they are waiting for seven other U.S. generals and plan to officially sign the GDRP this month. Izoria added that Georgia has already launched the construction of relevant infrastructure for the implementation of the program.
Georgia had started a new stage of military cooperation with the United States through signing the memorandum on Deepening the Defense and Security Partnership in July 2016 and the three-year agreement for cooperation in the defense field in December 2016, said Izoria.
At the meeting, the U.S. general praised Georgia's active involvement in international peacekeeping missions and promised to further enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of security.
Hodges is on a visit to Georgia to participate in an ongoing multinational exercise named Noble Partner 2017, which kicked off on July 30.
