TBILISI. Oct 23 (Interfax) - The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously approved a bill on support to Georgia dealing with bilateral cooperation in the sphere of defense, security and trade, according to the Georgian Foreign Ministry's report.
"The document gives special attention to cooperation between the United States and Georgia in the sphere of defense and security, strengthening Georgia's defense capability. It also calls on the U.S. trade representative to take effective steps from the point of view of negotiations to sign an agreement on free trade between Georgia and the United States,' the report said.
Georgian Parliament Deputy Speaker Tamar Chugoshvili told reporters the adopted bill expresses definite support by the U.S. of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"It is very important to us that the document contains a call on relevant structures to come up with a five-year U.S. strategy on Georgia," Chugoshvili said.
The bill adopted by the House of Representatives will be sent to the Senate and later to the U.S. president after being approved by the senators, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said. The Georgia Support Act will only take the force of a law after these procedures are completed.