Members of Parliament held a meeting with the Defense Minister, Irakli Chikovani; and the Chief of the Georgian Defence Forces, Major General Giorgi Matiashvili to hear about the ongoing and scheduled reforms in the Ministry.

The primary focus at the meeting was on the activity of the National Military Drafting and Recruiting Agency. It is noteworthy that pursuant to the Defense Code, the conscripts shall serve the national military term in the defense forces solely as of January 2025.

The representatives of the National Military Drafting and Recruiting Agency introduced the increasing interest in military drafting by the youth.

The discourse incorporated the military registration system implemented in practice on the basis of the most effective practices of the partner countries.

“Our visit to the Defense Ministry was focused on the hearing of the ongoing and scheduled reforms, where the Defense Minister and the officers of the Ministry provided interesting information. The Parliament attaches high importance to the facilitation of civic engagement in the national defense and the promotion of the defense forces, correspondingly, the Defense and Security Committee, through coordination with respective agencies, aspires to boost this process. At this juncture, we were accompanied by the Chairs of other Committees and Members of Parliament during this visit, who were informed about the reforms and conscription aspects. I would like to underline that this is the reform that resulted in the registration of over 700 conscripts for the national military service. We intend to uphold our cooperation with the Ministry for the realization of joint activities”, - Alexander Tabatadze, the Chair of the Committee stated.

The meeting in the Ministry was attended by the Heads of the Departments, members of the Defense and Security Committee, and the Chairs of the Regional Policy and Self-Government, the Education, Science and Youth Affairs, the Legal Issues, the Procedural Issues and Rules, and the EU Integration Committees.

Members of Parliament gave a positive assessment of the implementation of the Defense Code and the reforms in the Ministry.