On 28-30 November 2005 a Georgian governmental delegation headed by Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli visited Brussels.
Noghaideli visited NATO headquarters where he attended meetings devoted to Georgia's prospects for integration into the alliance. While there he met NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who expressed his satisfaction at the progress Georgia had achieved while implementing Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) and said that the door of NATO is open for Georgia and access to this door depends on the further success of the reforms.
NATO headquarters hosted a meeting in the "26+1" (the 26 NATO members plus Georgia) at which member states supported Georgia's desire to join NATO.
During the visit to NATO it was forecast that within the coming two years Georgia will successfully complete Individual Partnership Program and will receive an official invitation to participate in negotiations on membership of the alliance at the 2008 or 2009 summit.
Prime Minister Noghaideli met EU high representative for common foreign and security policy Javier Solana, EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Parliament Joseph Borrel Fontelles and EU High Commissioner for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana. The meetings once again showed that the EU recognizes the progress made by Georgia in economic and social sectors. In the near future assistance will be increased in all sectors - not only humanitarian assistance, but also an equal partnership. Noghaideli noted at several of the meetings that "The success of Georgian democratic reforms and the security of our country is part of a unified system for European security."
Within the framework of the visit the Georgian prime minister also met representatives of the Kingdom of Belgium, including Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. During the meeting they discussed the further strengthening of Georgian-Belgian relations.
Prime Minister's Press Service