Defense Minister Irakli Alasania left for Brussels where he will meet NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on a sideline of NATO defense ministerial meeting which will be held on February 21-22, the Georgian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

In Brussels Alasania will also participate in a meeting of NATO defense ministers with counterparts from non-NATO member states contributing to Afghan operations. Alasania also plans a meeting with General Joseph Dunford, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, according to Georgian MoD.

It was announced on Monday that North Atlantic Council, NATO’s senior decision-making body, and the NATO Secretary General would visit Georgia in next few months.

“This high-level visit will be yet another confirmation that Georgia is moving orderly on its path of NATO integration; it also shows importance NATO pays towards Georgia,” Alasania said on February 18, adding that he expects to define exact dates of the visit during his talks in Brussels this week.

Ambassadors from NATO member-states from the alliance’s senior decision-making body, North Atlantic Council, visited Georgia twice – once in September, 2008 and then in November, 2011.