News

  Lithuanian Defence Minister Rasa Jukneviciene met with her Georgian counterpart Bacho Akhalaia in Tbilisi where she stopped on her way back from Afghanistan to Lithuania on Tuesday.   During the meeting, the ministers discussed Georgia's defense reform, the Georgia-Russia relations and the situation in the occupied territories, as well as other issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Minister Jukneviciene reiterated Lithuania's support for Georgia's integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, also promised to continue supportting the projects that enhance practical cooperation between NATO and Georgia. Among such projects is NATO-Georgia Professional Training Program, in force since 2009, which is led by the UK, the Nordic and Baltic countries. Lithuania together with Latvia heads the program's Public Relations Task Force.

Minister Jukneviciene also expressed condolences to her Georgian counterpart over the death of four Georgian soldiers killed in Afghanistan on September 30th.

Roughly one thousand Georgian soldiers are now deployed in Afghanistan.

Also, one Georgian military doctor is working with Lithuanian soldiers in the Lithuania-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Ghor province of Afghanistan. A civilian doctor has recently joined the reconstruction efforts under Lithuania's Development Cooperation Program.

The Georgian government has promised to cover the operating costs of the two doctors starting from next year.