The United States delivered military equipment worth some 1.1 million dollars to Georgia on Sunday, the Georgian Defense Ministry said.

An official with the ministry said the equipment includes 50,000 square meters of cloth for camouflage uniform, 300 sets of military uniform for service in deserts, military tents, special computers, bulletproof vests, and night-vision devices, the Interfax news agency reported.

The 300 sets of military uniform will be transferred to the Georgian troops that will soon leave for Iraq.

There are 159 Georgian servicemen in Iraq and the number is expected to increase to 300 by the end of November.

"The purpose of the gift is to help Georgia ensure its nationalsecurity," the unnamed official was cited as saying.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, US Ambassador to Georgia Richard Miles, and several other senior officials from both sides attended the handover ceremony at a military aerodrome near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

"The US assistance will be used for strengthening the Georgian army," Saakashvili was cited as saying.

The United States has provided at least 1-billion-dollar assistance to Georgia over the past decade. Military exchanges andcooperation between the two countries have become more active since Saakashvili, a US-educated lawyer, took office early this year. Many US military consultants have been helping Georgia to train anti-terrorist troops over the past several years.

Source: Xinhua