2018-04-30
Greetings, Mister President, Mister Chairman of the Parliament, Mister Defense Minister, Mister Chief of the General Staff!
I welcome the members of the Cabinet and representatives of the diplomatic corps!
Generals, officers, sergeants, corporals, privates, ladies and gentlemen,
I congratulate all of Georgia on the Day of the Armed Forces of Georgia! I congratulate the staff of the Armed Forces, each soldier and officer!
27 years ago today, independent Georgia drafted its first soldiers to serve in its Armed Forces. It was the day when the Georgian army continued the tradition established in 1918 by the first independent republic, marking a heroic, albeit short-lived, portion in the history of Georgia's Armed Forces in which we take great pride. Similar to 100 years ago, Georgian fighters have had to engage in numerous battles for the country's unity. Loyalty and selfless service to the homeland is what has always turned our soldiers into heroes. I would like to pay homage to the memory of the soldiers fallen for Georgia's unity.
I would like to thank everyone, each and every service member of Georgia's Armed Forces, duly protecting our country's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. With your strong and unwavering spirit of the Georgian soldier, you are risking your lives serving and protecting our homeland and the national interests of our state.
On this day, I congratulate our troops participating in international peacemaking missions and fighting for peace all over the world, who have turned the name of Georgian soldiers synonymous to selflessness and determination.
Today, we are building modern and robust armed forces for a modern state.
The might of the Georgian state lies largely within the might if its army. This is why the support we receive from our partners is so important. Today, on this square, the flags of many of our partner countries is flown. I would like to emphasize the support of the United States of America. America's solidarity is unprecedented, indeed. The US is Georgia's strategic partner supporting our country's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
US-Georgia bilateral defense relations seek to ensure robust and reliable defense capabilities. These relations are deepening further, becoming increasingly dynamic, as clearly exemplified by the Memorandum on Deepening the Defense and Security Partnership between the United States of America and Georgia signed at the highest level in 2016, the Three-Year Framework Agreement on Security, and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Georgia Defense Readiness Program (GDRP).
Today, we have the first Georgian squad present here that will engage in training under the GDRP this May. This three-year program starts this year to train a total of nine maneuver battalions.
In addition, the development of the Military Training Center, to train and evaluate troops, continues.
For its part, the Government of Georgia is sparing no effort to provide our service members with decent conditions. Caring for the homeland's loyal children, our soldiers, is the state's foremost duty.
Once again, I congratulate all of you on this important date!
Firstly, I wish peace to each Georgian soldier. I strongly believe that our Georgia will surely be a unified, strong, and developed state.
Congratulations!