The Prime Minister of Georgia arrived on a visit to Azerbaijan. As part of the trip, Irakli Garibashvili will meet with the leader of the neighboring republic, Ilham Aliyev.
On Friday, a Georgian delegation led by the Prime Minister arrived in Azerbaijan on a visit. Irakli Garibashvili is accompanied by the head of the government administration, the head of the Foreign Ministry and the head of the Ministry of Economy.
In Baku, the Georgian prime minister immediately went to the presidential residence, where he was received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Following the talks, they will make a joint press statement.
At the beginning of the year, Garibashvili noted that the ties between Tbilisi and Baku had been tested by time. In particular, he drew attention to the fact that Georgia and Azerbaijan managed to jointly implement a number of important historical projects in the region.
Negotiations agenda
The head of the Center for the Study of Security and International Relations, Nika Chitadze, in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, said that transport and energy projects are the main topics of negotiations. "We know that there is a need to implement a project of laying a power line under the Black Sea. The European Union is ready to allocate 2 bn euros for a 1,195 km offshore power transmission line project. The volume of electricity production in Azerbaijan is about 30 bn kWh per year, and it is possible to export electricity to Europe through the territory of Georgia," the expert said.
Due to the fact that the entire modern export infrastructure of Azerbaijan passes through Georgia, the growth of any supplies requires coordination of the actions of the two countries. ”The issue of increasing the export of oil and gas from Azerbaijan is on the agenda. In particular, there is a possibility of transporting an additional volume of oil from the territory of Azerbaijan and, possibly, the territory of Kazakhstan through Georgia to Türkiye and further to the global market," Nika Chitadze explained.
"Perhaps, the leaders will also discuss the situation of the Azerbaijani population in Georgia and the Georgian population in Azerbaijan. We have no problems in this area, so we can talk about conducting various educational programs in the Gakh and Zagatala regions of Azerbaijan and in the Georgian region of Kvemo Kartli. In addition, the leaders may also discuss the development of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which is one of the main roads for transportation in the East-West direction," the expert added.
Georgia's attitude towards Azerbaijan
The political scientist emphasized that Georgia considers Azerbaijan as the most important political partner. "Georgia puts a lot of emphasis on the development of relations with Azerbaijan, given the centuries-old friendship between the Georgian and Azerbaijani peoples. Azerbaijan is one of the main investors in Georgia: the volume of Azerbaijani investments by SOCAR and other companies exceeds $3 bin,” Nika Chitadze noted.
"In addition, Azerbaijan is the main supplier of natural gas to the territory of Georgia. Georgia also imports crude oil through the territory of Azerbaijan. For Azerbaijan, Georgia is a gate to the global markets, so both states benefit from constructive cooperation and are interested in the positive development of relations," the expert concluded.
