Meetings and Discussions

   

Meeting with NATO Secretary General

On November 4, 2004, the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies organized a meeting with NATO Secretary General, Jaap De Hoop Scheffer and with the members of the Georgian media and the Georgian NGO community. The meeting was moderated by Temur Yakobashvili.

When addressing the audience, Scheffer focused his remarks on NATO-Georgia relations and the prospects for future partnership. He described Georgia’s path to integration into the NATO alliance as a long and winding road. In spite of this, he noted that Georgia’s commendable efforts to contribute to NATO-Georgia relations and the recently adopted Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), an agreement between NATO and Georgia on reforms in Georgian society, significantly advance the country on that road.

Scheffer also mentioned the recent appointment of Robert Simmons as Special Representative of the Secretary General of NATO for the Caucasus and Central Asia. The appointment of a representative will greatly facilitate to form closer cooperation and to guide the relationship between NATO and the two regions. In the near future, a liaison officer specifically for the Caucasus will also be appointed.The officer will first visit Georgia and then travel to Azerbaijan and Armenia.

After Mr. Scheffer’s speech, the meeting continued in a Q&A mode. The guest answered the questions from the Georgian media and NGO representatives.