TBILISI, DFWatch – NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is coming on another visit to Georgia in September, less than a year after his last visit here.

This is proof that Georgia-NATO relations are strengthening, Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister Giorgi Baramidze says.

Critics think there was no important progress for Georgia at the recent NATO summit in Chicago, but Baramidze repeated what he has said before; that the what happened in Chicago was more proof that Georgia is on the way to NATO integration.

“We all saw this clearly at the summit,” he said at a press conference in connection with a visit by Alexander Vershbow, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General.

Baramidze expressed joy over NATO’s support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Alexander Vershbow said a lot needs to be done for Georgia to gain entry into NATO, but he said he is optimistic and believes that Georgia will be integrated someday.

He said defense reform should continue in Georgia, and once again underlined Georgia’s progress on the way towards partnership with the alliance, as well as being a contributor to NATO operations.