TBILISI, February 18 (RIA Novosti) - In 2008, Georgia will receive a formal invitation to join NATO and will become a full-fledged member of the alliance, the Georgian state minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration said Saturday.

"I am confident that in 2008 we will receive an invitation from NATO and will become a full-fledged member of the alliance," Georgy Baramidze told a session of the International Security Forum.

The state minister said he hoped in September, 2006, the alliance would positively assess Georgia's implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), and that the country would qualify for accession to the Membership Action Plan (MAP), both necessary stages for NATO membership.