NATO Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) and NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC) have just signed a partnership agreement. This marks another milestone in NATO-Georgia cooperation. The document sets the overarching framework for the cooperation between the two centres. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agreement was signed in two separate ceremonies. On 4 November 2020, Major General Adam Joks, JFTC Commander, signed the document in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on behalf of the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. Brigadier General Irakli Chichinadze, Deputy Chief of Defence, signed it on behalf of Georgian Ministry of Defence on 11 December 2020 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Background
NATO-Georgia JTEC is a symbol of deepening cooperation and partnership between Georgia and NATO. It was inaugurated on 27 August 2015 and established in May 2016 as a keystone initiative of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package announced in 2014. JTEC was designed to assist Georgia in reforming, modernisation and strengthening its security and defence sector; enhancing interoperability of Georgian Forces, enabling them to work alongside NATO and partner forces and offer multi-national training and exercise opportunities.
JFTC, under the guidance of the Allied Command Transformation, plays an important role in fostering JTEC capabilities. In early 2015 JFTC assumed the leading role in preparations for the NATO-Georgia Exercise 2016. During the event, JTEC cadre shadowed JFTC as the officer directing the exercise. After a successful execution, JFTC used its vast experience in planning and delivering NATO training to mentor and support JTEC. In 2019, JTEC took over the responsibility for directing another NATO-Georgia Exercise, with JFTC providing mentorship during the event. The exercise became a stepping stone towards even closer cooperation between JTEC and JFTC, transitioning to a new level of partnership. Since then, both centres have been developing a partnership programme to streamline their cooperation in the future.
About Partnership
The JFTC-JTEC partnership builds upon the success of the mentorship programme and ensures the continuous support to JTEC development as a NATO-affiliated training centre. It offers an opportunity to bring JTEC to a higher level while providing an opportunity for NATO to benefit from unique training opportunities that JTEC offers.
The partnership agreement provides JFTC and JTEC with an opportunity to continue working together under a new framework – much broader than collaboration in preparation for the NATO-Georgia exercise series. The partnership between JTEC and JFTC builds upon a solid foundation - professionalism and dedication of the Georgian Defence Force staff at the JTEC, a knowledgeable and expert team of NATO advisors who are now under operational control of JFTC, and coordinated engagement and cooperation with numerous stakeholders in NATO and locally in Tbilisi.
