Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, during a joint briefing with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, highlighted the discussions held on trade, economic issues, and various collaborative projects between the two countries.
"We also had a discussion about trade and economic affairs, of course. We reviewed the cooperation in energy, transport, logistics sectors. Azerbaijan is one of the largest trade partners of Georgia and is consistently ranked in the Top 5 Countries every single year. Trade volume grew by 15% this year. Quite a record-high indicator was reached last year as well. We increased the volume of cargo shipment and in general, I wish to note, we cooperate very successfully in every area, be that energy, transport, logistics or any other direction. Our railways are also cooperating very successfully", - PM said.
He emphasized the enduring nature of the long-term strategic partnership between Georgia and Azerbaijan, noting ongoing collaboration on the Middle Corridor development project with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
"We reviewed the prospects of advancing the Middle Corridor too. You may well be aware that we are coordinating our work with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to make sure that it gets developed in the most efficient manner, implying railway modernization, extension and construction of ports, as well as development and modernization of land roads. I know that Azerbaijan has launched wide-scale works towards this end. We in Georgia have also started to work on modernization of the railway, which will be completed at the end of 2024. Its throughput will increase and double upon completion. We are also launching the construction of a new port in Anaklia very soon. Its throughput will be 100 million tons when the last phase gets completed. Also, construction of the East-West Highway (EWH) will be finished very soon. We are, of course, cooperating with Azerbaijan on all these projects. Also, another historic project will be completed in a few months. I am referring to a project of strategic significance – Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) Railway Project – which is progressing very successfully now and we will be completing it in several months",- PM said.
