Defense Minister Hopeful about Georgia’s NATO MAP in 2006

Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili said on February 4 that Georgia will move from the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) to NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) this year.

Okruashvili made these comments after a meeting between NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and President Saakashvili took place in Munich on the sidelines of an international security conference.

“I am sure that by the end of this year we will most likely start implementation of the Membership Action Plan,” Okruashvili told Georgian reporters in Munich.

An assessment group from NATO is expected to visit Georgia in March to evaluate Georgia’s implementation of the IPAP.

President Saakashvili said while addressing the Munich conference on February 3 that by maintaining an open door policy “to nations like Georgia and Ukraine, we believe the Alliance becomes stronger.”

“That is why we believe earning official candidate status in a Membership Action Plan benefits Georgia and Ukraine and the rest of Europe,” Saakashvili said.

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