The MIA Border Police of Georgia is hosting Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO (SNMG2) in the territorial waters of Georgia. SNMG2 includes the Italian flagship ITS VIRGINIO FASAN, Canadian HMCS FREDERICTON, Bulgarian BGS VERNI, and Romanian ROS REGINA MARIA. The fifth vessel of the SNMG2 - Turkish TCG SALIHREIS - is to join the group later during the combined maritime exercises.

This port visit is a visible demonstration of NATO-Georgia successful cooperation in terms of the Black Sea maritime security and underlines the Alliance’s continued commitment to Georgia.

Within the port call to Georgia, SNMG2 will conduct combined maritime exercise training with the Georgian Coast Guard vessels “Ochamchire” and “Dioskuria”. The aim of set of exercises is to enhance interoperability between the Georgian and Allied forces.

The visit is held in line with the recommendations from the World Health Organization and the National Center for Disease Control. In order to prevent the possible spread of the COVID-19 all public and cultural events within the visit have been cancelled. The meetings are to be held through VTC and the combined exercises will only include ship maneuvers without crew interactions.

Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO will remain in Poti port till April 10. It has been the first visit of SNMG2 to Georgia this year. The NATO Vessels visited Georgian ports twice last year, in April and October.