Georgia, NATO Sign Transit Agreement

Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer signed an agreement on March 2 in Brussels, envisaging use of Georgia?s air space, road and rail infrastructure for transit purposes by NATO to send supplies necessary for the sustainment of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

?Georgia’s decision to reach this agreement is an important contribution to the ISAF [the International Security Assistance Force] mission and is particularly significant in light of NATO?s recent decisions taken to further expand the International Security Assistance Force into the West of Afghanistan,? press-release issued by NATO states.

ISAF troops are helping the new Afghan administration to maintain security. The ISAF mission has been under NATO command since August 2003.