On February 8 through 10 Chief of General Staff of Georgia Major General Vladimer Chachibaia conducted a formal visit in Lithuania at the invitation of Lithuania's Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas.
On February 8 the guests visited the Gen Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania to be briefed on its activity and met with Georgian officers studying at qualification refresher and update courses at the Academy, and paid visits to the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence (ENSECCOE) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) based on the territory of the Academy.
Chief of General Staff was welcomed with a formal ceremony on February 9. Then Maj Gen V. Chachibaia met with Vice Minister of National Defence V.Umbrasas, Chief of Defence Lt Gen J.V.Žukas and representatives of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The meetings addressed military cooperation and security situation in the Baltic region and Georgia. Lt Gen J. V. Žukas briefed his Groargian counterpart on the current matters and development plans in the Lithuanian Armed Forces and reiterated Lithuania's continued support to Georgia's cooperation with NATO and continuation of the assistance in military training, education and capability development based on bilateral agreements.
Later the guests visited the Defence Staff and the Special Operations Forces of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Last time Lithuanian and Georgian Chiefs of Defence met was in October during Lt Gen J.V.Žukas' formal visit in Georgia.
Lithuania and Georgia have been cooperating in defence area since signing a bilateral agreement 2001. Major areas of bilateral military cooperation are officer training and expert-level consultations on strategic communication, cyber defence, logistics, finance management, strategic planning, as well as other areas.
Photo credits: A. Pliadis (MoD)
