TBILISI, DFWatch – The former Soviet republic of Georgia is to become a supplier of goods the U.S. military.

Georgian Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili announced the news Tuesday during the opening of a conference on Georgian-American cooperation in Batumi.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili met in January 2012 and agreed to deepen cooperation.

At the conference in Batumi, Pentagon officials were attending. Batu Kutelia, Deputy Secretary of Georgia’s Security Council, told journalists that the goal of the meeting is also to let Georgian products get on the list of Pentagon purchasing to later get Georgian products on the international market.

“The goal of the meeting is that products produced in Georgia will get on the international market, Georgian business engaged in American Defense Ministry’s purchasing programs and Georgian productions could make it to the international market,” he said.

Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili says this is an opportunity to get into the Pentagon’s supply chain.

“Georgian entrepreneurs are given the unique opportunity to get into a very large market. This is a 47 billion dollar market,” Merabishvili said.

He believes this will create more jobs in Georgia.

The supplies will most likely not include weapons, but only non-military goods like food.