Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria and United States Defense Secretary James Mattis will meet next week in Washington D.C., said U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly on November 7.

Speaking after his meeting with Levan Izoria, Ambassador Kelly noted that the forthcoming visit would come “at a very important juncture” in the U.S.-Georgian relations, following Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to Georgia and ahead of the start of the Georgia Defense Readiness Program, a large training program that will be initiated next spring.

“The minister will have an opportunity to meet with a wide range of political actors in Washington, from Capitol Hill to the White House and to the Pentagon,” Kelly also noted.

Minister Izoria said in his remarks that he would discuss “important aspects” of bilateral defense cooperation with Secretary James Mattis.

“I would like to emphasize that we will be moving to a qualitatively new level of cooperation in the defense field,” he noted, adding that the United States is set to spend more than USD 100 million for defense reforms in Georgia in 2017 and 2018.

“This will strengthen Georgia’s defense capabilities and bring the strategic cooperation between our countries to even higher levels,” Izoria concluded.

According to the Defense Ministry, Levan Izoria will visit the United States from November 12 to November 16.