Relations between Turkmenistan and Georgia on issues of economics and logistics are reaching new frontiers. According to the advisor to the Georgian President on Economic Affairs, Giorgi Abashishvili, Tbilisi can offer Ashgabat to use Georgian ports for the transit of goods to Europe and other countries of the world. Turkmenistan, in its turn, not only receives direct access through the Caspian and Black Seas to Europe, but also becomes a conductor of the interests of Afghanistan and China, which are willing to invest in various transportation projects in the Caspian region.
"One of the important issues is transport. We mean the initiative of Afghanistan and the formation of an entirely new transport corridor from Afghanistan through Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, as well as Georgia to Europe. Transportation of such goods will create major political guarantees in the country,’’ said Abashishvili.
The fact that Afghanistan is searching for a way through the Caspian Sea to Europe, this information was reported on January 22 by Vestnik Kavkaza. The President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, considers that access to the Caspian Sea coast can help him to lead the country out of crisis. Vestnik Kavkaza reported the words of the Director of the Center of Afghanistan Studies, Omar Nessar: "Since the 1990s Ashraf Ghani has been one of the authors and instigators of transport projects in East and South Asia. Being an official of the World Bank, he showed a genuine interest in this field. So the realization of the project to the Caspian Sea is a matter of honor for him."
The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway is being built for this purpose. The first Afghan-Turkmen part has already been completed. Tajikistan will join the project later this year. But it is not so important for Kabul and Ashgabat, as the first part of the route can already be used. Access to Azerbaijan will be provided through the Caspian Sea. Recently, the Turkmen fleet received new ferryboats for the transportation of passengers, lorries and other large-size cargo. Then it is planned to use the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars transport corridor and the Georgian ports.
It is also worth remembering about another important railway project, Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran, launched at the end of last year. These rail ‘’arteries’’ are intended to connect several important regions and markets.
As the leading researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Shohrat Kadyrov, told Vestnik Kavkaza, Turkmenistan and Georgia have never played the roles of key partners in foreign policy, particularly in foreign economic policy. "The previous Georgian debts for Turkmen gas on the one hand, and Georgian green tea (the national drink of the Turkmen), repair of Turkmen military aircraft at Tbilisi aircraft plant on account of the debt are the whole spectrum of relations between the two countries. It explains the late visit of the Turkmen President (8 years) to Georgia after coming to power. But what are the results? From an unimportant neighbor, Georgia is now declared as a strategic partner of Turkmenistan,’’ Kadyrov said.
Giorgi Abashishvili said that, besides transportation projects, Ashgabat and Tbilisi discussed promotion of Turkmen gas to the European Union. According to him, Georgia is actively involved in the subsequent implementation of the project. On the one hand, it will bring benefits for Georgia in the context of natural gas transportation, and in terms of the energy resources of the European Union. "Georgia has a few suggestions. In particular, the so-called Agri project, which provides transportation of Turkmen gas to Romania, Hungary and Western Europe," the adviser to the Georgian president said. According to him, agreement was reached at the highest political level, so that Georgia could be considered as a major partner for Turkmenistan in terms of the delivery of energy to Europe, as well as in transport and logistics cooperation.
"Indeed, in the context of the notorious Nabucco-West project there is an important geopolitical aspect of cooperation, as the gas from Turkmenistan will pass through the territory of Georgia. However, we can believe at a big stretch that the visit to Georgia has boiled up in respect of the decision on deliveries of Turkmen gas through the Caspian Sea to the Caucasus. Georgia agrees. There are no problems with it. At the same time, few things depend on Georgia. That is why we can only guess the purpose of the visit of the Turkmen President to Tbilisi. It is geopolitical cooperation with a group of countries (pro-American Georgia, NATO member Turkey and pro-Western Azerbaijan) in the context of Nabucco-West. At least in words and promises, it continues to make a significant and promising figure of Berdimuhamedov for the United States and Europe,’’ Shohrat Kadyrov said.
According to the expert, "in addition to Nabucco-West they discussed the Afghanistan-Georgia transport corridor. It is clear that neither country is rich enough to be concerned about mega-transit projects from the viewpoint of their economic benefits. Therefore, in this case, when we discuss Nabucco-West we mean more a geopolitical project of consolidation of the countries on the perimeter of the south of Russia, but escaping it. So if Turkmenistan restructures its gas industry for the production of liquefied natural gas, so this line (and the Black Sea ports of Georgia) could have a tremendous future."
