YEREVAN. – Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania’s first recent visit to Armenia was not solely political and informational, Georgian Studies specialist, Center for Political and Legal Studies (CePLS) Director Johnny Melikyan stated during a press conference on Wednesday.    

“During the visit, the defense ministers of both countries primarily discussed matters relating to three domains: Military education, reforms, and participation in international peacekeeping missions,” the analyst noted.  

He stressed that Georgia has greatly contributed to the peace mission in Afghanistan, and added that Georgia is the sole non-NATO country which has around 1,500 peacekeepers in Afghanistan.

As for military reforms in Georgia, Alasania stressed, during his visit, that the $4 billion, which the country’s former authorities had allocated for military industry, were spend inefficiently. 

“The Georgian party could make use of the Armenian track-record in this regard, whereas the Armenian [party], the knowhow of the Georgian colleagues in several other directions,” Johnny Melikyan concluded.