General James F. Amos, the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, arrived in Georgia on Thursday for a two-day visit.

He met Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and will also meet officials from the Georgian Ministry of Defense.

The visit of the U.S. Marine Corps’ top officer to Georgia comes ahead of planned trip to Tbilisi by U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who is expected to arrive in Georgia after two-day NATO summit, which opened in Wales on Thursday.

Georgian PM’s office said that “deepening of defense cooperation”, as well as regional security in the context of crisis in Ukraine were discussed. It also said that the PM and the U.S. Marine Corps’ top officer expressed hope that at the ongoing summit in Wales, NATO will offer Georgia “enhanced cooperation package” to help increase Georgia’s defense capabilities.

The U.S. embassy in Tbilisi said that General James F. Amos is visiting Tbilisi “to thank Georgian officials for Georgia’s longstanding support of international security operations and to recognize the lasting partnership between the Marine Corps and the Georgian Armed Forces.”