Tbilisi: As announced earlier, the Republic of Georgia hosted a Multinational military training under the head of “ Maple Arch 2023”. The Inauguration ceremony took place at Georgia-NATO JTEC (Joint Training Evaluation Centre).
It is worth mentioning that this training is being organized by the Ministry of Defense of Canada but under the mentorship of the Directorate of Military Training Cooperation of Georgia. Moreover, the training was led by the Georgian side of the Defense Forces Eastern Headquarters.
The Speech by the Deputy Commander of the Defense Forces, Brigade General Irakli Chichinadze and the representative of the Ministry of Defense of Canada’s Military Training Cooperation Directorate, Major Sean D. Clark, stressed and emphasized the importance and purpose of multinational training.
This was a Two-week head-staff training held at the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC). As per the information available, Along with Canadian instructors, Georgian instructors are also involved in MAPLE ARCH 23. At the same time, Military personnel from 9 different countries participated in the training. Notably, Georgian Defense Forces were represented by various subdivisions of the Eastern Basin and JTEC personnel.
This training was held with the aim to enhance the interconnectivity and ability between all nine participating countries, deepening the defence links between partner countries, bringing them closer as per the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) standards in planning and implementing peacekeeping operations, and sharpening the skills required for effective action and decision-making.
It is to be specifically mentiond that MAPLE ARCH is an annual multinational training hosted by different member countries on a rotation basis. Georgian Defense Forces participated in these exercises for the first time at the battalion-level headquarters in 2018. The MAPLE Arch 2023 exercise is being hosted first time in Georgia.
The military spokesperson of Georgia stated that these Joint Multinational military exercises have great potential to teach military skills. They also said that holding such a massive exercise in Geogroa First time is a proud moment for all of us. The official also recalled the decision of the Europe Commission with regard to the Candidate status of Georgia in the European Union.
It is being realized by the Top Military brass of the country that as the country steps toward European integration, It is time to Upgrade the Military standards as per the NATO level.
Just a few months ago, Georgia announced that it would host the MAPLE ARCH in November.