TBILISI. Jan 28 (Interfax) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will visit Georgia in March during a command and staff exercise involving soldiers from 22 countries, Georgian Minister Levan Izoria told reporters on Monday.
"NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg will visit NATO in March. Cooperation with NATO will become even more large-scale this year. NATO [presence] will be greater in Georgia, because we are planning on holding an ambitious exercise together in March," Izoria said, adding that the members of the NATO Military Committee are also expected to visit the country.
Georgia will be fully commanding such an exercise for the first time in history, he said.
"This proves once again that we are a reliable partner for NATO. A total of 22 NATO member states and partners of the alliance expressed a desire to participate in this exercise," Izoria said, adding that the development of Georgia's cooperation with NATO is "unprecedented and irreversible."
He also announced plans to host the international exercise Agile Spirit 2019 in western Georgia. Agile Spirit drills have been held annually in Georgia since 2011. The Georgian Defense Ministry said that the exercise is being planned together with the United States European Command.