Baku, Tbilisi hail cooperation on global level

Georgian Prime Minister Georgy Kvirikashvili who paid an official visit to Azerbaijan on March 12, was received by President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state expressed confidence that Kvirikashvili’s visit will play an important role in the development of the Azerbaijani-Georgian relations of friendship and brotherhood.

“We are successfully cooperating in a number of areas. I am glad that the trade turnover is growing, that Azerbaijan ranks first among the countries investing in Georgia. This demonstrates that your country has a very good investment climate. At the same time, it shows that our relations are at a very high level,” said the President.

The cooperation between Azerbaijan and Georgia is going beyond regional format to reach the global level, President Aliyev said at the meeting.

Surely, there are many important global projects that bind us, according to the head of state.

“In October 2017, together with you, we marked the opening of one of these projects - the Baku-TbilisiKars railway. Our cooperation will reach a higher level thanks to the launch of the project on expansion of the South Caucasus gas pipeline and TANAP this year. Our cooperation, from the regional format, is entering global level. Our friendship, our brotherhood is in the core of all these successful steps. And I am sure that sincere relations will continue to serve the interests of our peoples,” the head of state said.

Kvirikashvili thanked President Aliyev for warm hospitality and emphasized the dynamics of the development of the economic relations between the two countries.

“I am glad that this visit has taken place. This is a special event for us because Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of Georgia. Fortunately, our economic relations are steadily developing. Last year the bilateral ties were characterized by exceptional growth,” he said.

Kvirikashvili went on to add that Azerbaijan is Georgia’s number one investment partner.

“According to the recently published statistical data, Azerbaijan leads the foreign visitors’ charts in Georgia, which is also very rewarding. The strategic projects you mentioned - the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project and the Southern Gas Corridor project fur- ther connecting to Europe via the Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic Pipelines - are of vital economic and geopolitical importance,” he said.

Kvirikashvili stressed that regional formats are crucial in terms of political and economic relations.

“Georgia invariably supports Azerbaijan’s position in global format, which is natural given our strategic partnership. In addition, I would like to congratulate you on the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of the First Republic, an immensely important date to both Georgia and Azerbaijan, and I very much hope that we will celebrate it duly, ”he concluded.

On March 12, Kvirikashvili was also scheduled to meet his Azerbaijani counterpart, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade.

During the meeting held in the Cabinet of Ministers, the strategic partnership between Georgia and Azerbaijan, further development of cooperation in various spheres and joint projects of regional importance were discussed.

Rasizade noted that Azerbaijan is ready to continue efforts to further develop strategic partnership with Georgia.

Following the face-to-face meeting of the prime ministers, negotiations continued in an extended format involving officials of the two countries.

The sides discussed the deepening of economic cooperation and possibility of holding a meeting of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission of the two countries.

Special attention was paid to the joint transport and energy projects that are not only of regional character but also global.

The parties also discussed the current situation in the region and emphasized the importance of maintaining stability and finding peaceful resolutions to existing conflicts.