U.S. Government team led by Assistant Secretary of Defense Alexander Vershbow to visit Georgia

October 19-20, 2009

Alexander Vershbow, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, will lead an interagency U.S. Government team on a visit to Georgia on October 19-20 to meet with Georgian Government counterparts and to launch the first round of working group meetings under the U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership.  Four U.S.-Georgian bilateral working groups will focus on the priority areas identified in the Charter: democracy, security, economic development and people-to-people relations. 

During the Security Working Group, the sides will discuss Georgian defense reform, contributions to NATO operations in Afghanistan and regional security issues.  Other working group meetings are planned for November and December.  The U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Charter was signed in Washington in January 2009.  The Commission on the U.S.-Georgia Charter established the specific working groups tasked with implementation of Charter provisions in June 2009, when the first meeting under the Charter was held in Washington.