Combat Training Center Opens in Georgia as Part of Joint Program With US - MoD

TBILISI (Sputnik) - A combat training center opened in the Tbilisi neighborhood of Vaziani as part of the joint cooperation program with the United States called the Georgia Defense Readiness Program (GDRP), country's Defense Minister Levan Izoria said.

"Today is a historic day. The cooperation of Georgia and the United States, especially in the military sphere, is moving to a new stage. The strategic cooperation of the two countries is moving on. We are launching the Georgian Defense Readiness Program, which is very ambitious by its scale," Izoria told reporters.

According to the minister, the program implies training in accordance with NATO standards for servicemen of nine battalions of the country's armed forces "with the aim of territorial defense of the country."

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US European Command (EUCOM) head and Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti attended the opening ceremony along with the Georgian minister.

The GDRP is part of a 2016-2019 framework agreement on security cooperation between the US Department of Defense and the Georgian Ministry of Defense. The GDRP assumes assistance in the further modernization of Georgia's defense system.