National Security Council Holds Meeting

The National Security Council held a meeting on 4 November, the first this year, to discuss the global and regional security environment and the challenges facing Georgia.

In that context, the meeting focused on the process of updating national-level conceptual documents and the status of the National Security Concept. To that end, the Council noted that the concept was “ready to be submitted to the Parliament, but taking into account the drastically altered security environment, the document is being brought into line with the existing security environment.”

Other topics of discussion included reviewing ongoing reforms in the field of protecting critical infrastructure and compiling sectoral lists of key infrastructural facilities.

Besides Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the meeting was attended by its permanent members: Internal Affairs Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri (who is also serving as its current Secretary), Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, Head of the State Security Service Grigol Liluashvili, Head of the Intelligence Service Shalva Lomidze, and Commander of the Defense Forces Giorgi Matiashvili.

President Salome Zurabishvili welcomed the news that the National Security Council had met in a Facebook post, stating, “Against the background of the ongoing war in Ukraine, in order to deal with the challenges facing the country [and] protect the interests of the country, and for the peace of society, it is important for the state to use all the levers at its disposal.”

The National Security Council is an eight-member advisory body chaired by the Georgian Prime Minister. The body was established in April 2019, soon after Georgia’s new constitution entered into force and abolished the previous, President-led National Security Council. The rest of the permanent members are Defense, Foreign, and Finance Ministers, Heads of the State Security and Intelligence Services, and the Chief of the Georgian Armed Forces. 

The Council also has a “politically-neutral” permanent staff, responsible for informational, analytical, and organizational activities of the NSC, as part of the Government administration.

Note: This article was updated on 4 November at 17:41 to reflect President Zurabishvili’s remarks.