U.S. Embassy in Georgia

The Georgia Defense and Deterrence Enhancement Initiative (GDDEI) is a new bilateral U.S.-Georgia security cooperation initiative designed to enable further modernization and development of the Georgian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Georgian Defense Forces (GDF) in support of shared security interests.

• GDDEI demonstrates the continued commitment of the United States to Georgia and the importance of the U.S.-Georgia strategic partnership.
• GDDEI is a formal bilateral effort by the United States and Georgia to continue their strong military-to-military relationship and build upon the success of the Georgia Defense Readiness Program (GDRP), which concludes in December, 2021.
• GDDEI will be a multi-year investment in DoD security cooperation with the MoD following the conclusion of GDRP. GDRP has served as the focal point for bilateral security cooperation with Georgia since May 2018.
• GDDEI consists of two components. One component focuses on organizational change to build Georgia’s institutional capacity in the defense sector. The second focuses on strengthening GDF capabilities to train and employ brigades in combined arms operations necessary for territorial defense.
• GDDEI builds on the progress achieved under GDRP by enhancing deterrence and territorial defense capabilities, fostering interoperability with NATO, and enabling institutional reform and modernization through organizational change management.
• Georgia’s whole-of-government resilience capacity, which GDDEI seeks to support, requires close cooperation between the MoD and other Georgian government ministries.
• The United States remains committed to strengthening Georgia’s ability to defend itself and contribute to international security. We will continue our military cooperation, ship visits, and joint military exercises that aim to help Georgia further develop its defense capabilities and interoperability with NATO forces.

U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) has a long and productive military-to-military relationship with GDF. Our training together has led to our strong and strategic relationship that postures the GDF and USEUCOM as ready forces. We look forward to future opportunities to build on our strong relationship with training that enhances our collective military capabilities in an agile security environment.