After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the former Soviet republics came face-to-face with big challenges – conflicts, economic stagnation, corruption and dysfunctional state institutions – these are just a small list of problems that plagued the post-Soviet space in the 1990s, and fragile security being the most overriding problem for a small country like Georgia.

Some of the former Soviet republics remained in Moscow’s orbit, while others chose their vector of development towards the west. Of those republics, only Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia became part of the western world. Therefore, the example of the Baltic statesis promising for the countries undergoing democratic transition.

Georgia set out on the path towards western development immediately after gaining independence and declared its aspiration to establish close cooperation with the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance. However, the dire economic and political situation in the country, the territorial conflicts and the civil war hindered Georgia’s western development. As a result, Georgia’s integration process did not proceed as speedily as in the case of the Baltic countries.

The goal of Georgia’s security and foreign policy is to create an environment for safe, democratic and stable development. To achieve this goal, the European and Euro-Atlantic integration was defined as the main priority of Georgia’s foreign and security policy after gaining independence.
NATO-Georgia relations were established in 1992, when Georgia joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), which was renamed the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in 1997. This cooperation was further expanded in 1994 by Georgia’s joining NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme, which aimed at enhancing defence and security cooperation between NATO and individual partner countries. Particulalry worthy of note, in the history of NATO-Georgia relations, is the NATO summit held in Prague in 2002, where the second President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, for the first time announced Georgia’s aspiration to join NATO.

In 2004, Georgia became the first country to develop Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO – a time-bound action plan, within the framework of which Georgia undertook specific commitments to the Alliance. IPAP did not provide a mechanism for joining the Alliance, but in terms of the success of the ongoing reforms, it brought the cooperation with NATO to a higher level.

The document provided for the implementation of reforms in a number of areas and required the concerted and coordinated efforts of the Government of Georgia for their effective implementation. The NATO International Service was responsible for providing annual IPAP performance reports. From 2004 to 2008, we received a total of 5 performance reports (4 official and 1 unofficial). All of them were positive. To bring Georgia closer to NATO’s standards, on 21 September 2006, the Alliance started Intensified Dialogue on Membership Questions with Georgia.

The Intensified Dialogue was a joint cooperation mechanism between Georgia and NATO, as well as a preparatory phase that would move forward Georgia’s NATO integration agenda. In the framework of Intensified Dialogue multiple NATO-Georgia consultations were held on political issues as well as issues related to: security, peaceful conflict resolution, defense, civil emergency planning, science and education, etc.

Subsequently, at the NATO Bucharest Summit on 2-4 April 2008, the Allies agreed that Georgia would eventually become a member of the NATO. The political decision of the Bucharest Summit in relation to Georgia can be considered as one of the most progressive and important messages for the country on the way to join NATO.

Following the Russian military aggression against Georgia in August 2008, the Allies expressed their readiness to assist Georgia in the process of recovery and made a decision on establishing the NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC). The NGC is considered as a mechanism to implement the decision made at Bucharest Summit and oversees the assistance process in this regard. In September of the same year, NATO-Georgia Commission declaration was signed after a two-day visit (15-17 September 2008) of the North Atlantic Council to Georgia and in December 2008, NATO foreign ministers supported the development of Annual National Programme (ANP) in the framework of NATO-Georgia Commission.

Georgia’s case is unprecedented, since, according to the NATO enlargement policy practice, Annual National Programme (ANP) is implemented by only those states, which are granted Membership Action Plan (MAP). The implementation of this Programme is instrumental in getting Georgia closer to NATO standards. Currently, Georgia is developing 11th cycle of ANP (by 2020). It needs to be highlighted that all annual assessments of ANP were positive.

After the first visit in September 2008, the North Atlantic Cooperation Council paid four visits to Georgia in 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2019, which provides a solid proof of the Alliance’s unwavering political support for Georgia.

On 7 December 2011, NATO Foreign Ministers met at NATO Headquarters in Brussels where the Allies referred to Georgia as an aspirant country along with Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

2012 Chicago Summit is considered as an important step forward on Georgia’s NATO integration path in the sense that the Georgian delegation participated in all meetings open for partners (except for the meeting of NATO member states). Following this Summit, NATO-Georgia relations moved to a new stage as Georgia was grouped with Balkan aspirant countries (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Georgia’s sizable contribution to strengthening Euro-Atlantic security was also underlined at the Summit.

At the NATO 2014 Summit in Wales, the Allies made a decision to develop Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, which aims to strengthen Georgia’s defence capabilities in line with NATO standards and help Georgia advance in its preparations for eventual NATO membership. All NATO members and two partner countries – Sweden, Finland – participated in the implementation of the Substantial Package. It is worth noting that in December 2020, NATO Foreign Ministers approved the updated Substantial Package (SNGP) for Georgia, which contains important elements for further strengthening Georgia’s defence capabilities.

On 27 August 2015, NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC) was launched at the Krtsanisi National Training Center. JTEC is yet another successful NATO-Georgia project, which significantly contributes to increasing the country’s defence capabilities and Georgia-NATO interoperability, as well as to strengthening regional and international security. NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center provides its services not only to Georgia and the member states of the Alliance, but also to NATO’s partners.

Defence Institution Building School (DIB) inaugurated in 2016 is one of the flagship projects of the Substantial Package. Its main task is to support good governance in the security sector, to strengthen national defence and security capabilities and to develop cooperation with relevant NATO structures, NATO members and partners.

At the Warsaw summit in 2016, essentially important decisions were made to provide additional NATO assistance to Georgia in the field of defence. The Substantial NATO-Georgia Package was upgraded and new initiatives – adopted. It was decided at the Summit that NATO will deepen its focus on strengthening the Black Sea security and that Georgia will be involved in this process and will participate in the strategic dialogue related to the Black Sea security.

The 2018 Brussels Summit of NATO – the first time when the NATO Heads of State and Government met to discuss issues specifically related to Georgia. The NATO-Georgia Commission adopted a declaration – also unprecedented in the sense that it was the first declaration in the history of NATO-Georgia relations that was adopted at the level of heads of state (not at the level of foreign ministers).

At the summit, Georgia achieved important practical results in terms of outlining areas of joint engagement in strengthening the Black Sea security, which represents a new dimension of NATO-Georgia practical cooperation.

It is worth noting that the final document expresses the Alliance’s political support towards Georgia in the context of the Open Door Policy, and in particular, towards the decision of the Bucharest Summit that Georgia will become a member of NATO and that aspirant Georgia has all the practical tools to prepare for eventual membership.

On 3-4 October 2019, the North Atlantic Council led by the NATO Deputy Secretary-General, Rose Gottemoeller paid the fifth visit to Batumi. A joint statement was adopted at the meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission held within the framework of the visit, according to which the Allies gave a high assessment to the ongoing democratic reforms in Georgia. The members of the NATO delegation visited the Batumi port to explore the vessels “Dioskuria” and “Ochamchire” and held a meeting with representatives of the Georgian Coast Guard Boarding Teams, which are involved in NATO Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC) process.

In December 2020, NATO Foreign Ministers approved the updated Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP) for Georgia, which contains important elements for further strengthening Georgia’s defence capabilities.

On 28-30 June 2022, the NATO summit in Madrid approved a set of tailored support measures for Georgia, with the support involving concrete steps to further enhance the country’s defence capabilities and achieve NATO’s more effective engagement in this process.

Over the past years, Georgia has proved to be a valuable and reliable partner of the Alliance and a NATO aspirant country. The progress Georgia has made in terms of democratic reforms, modernization of armed forces and defencee institutions, and its contribution to strengthening international security, is widely recognized.