Turkmen, Georgian Leaders Meet, Speak of Transit Cooperation

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Giorgi Kvirikashvili, August 30, 2017. Photo: gov.ge

On August 30, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili paid an official visit to Turkmenistan and met the country’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Parliament Speaker Akja Nurberdiyeva.

Transit cooperation and energy projects, including the participation of Turkmenistan in the Silk Road project, were among the main issues discussed by the leaders of the two countries.

In his remarks before the meeting, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said there is “a great potential in trade and economic relations” between Georgia and Turkmenistan.

“We are interested in stimulating regional transportation projects and I believe there is a very strong common interest in it,” PM Kvirikashvili noted, later adding that the objective of bilateral relations should be to fully utilize the “untapped [economic] potential” of the countries.

“[We need] to develop transit projects; the Silk Road cannot exist without active participation of Turkmenistan and I believe in coming years we need to actively develop these relations to achieve a higher level of economic cooperation,” Kvirikashvili also said.

Berdimuhamedov spoke on the transit cooperation as well, saying it has a very “good potential that could be used for the benefit of our peoples.”

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili touched upon the issue again, saying the two leaders spoke on regional transportation projects, including the initiative on establishing a transport corridor with participation of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania, as well as the role of Turkmenistan in the Silk Road project implementation.

“We proposed to them to participate in our local transit infrastructure projects, which was met with great interest,” the Prime Minister also stated and added that “of course, energy transit projects are of [mutual] interest as well, which we will have to work on hard.”

“We spoke on many topics today but to speak of concrete results today would be a little early; we will work actively with the region’s countries and the European Union, so that the transit potential of the two seas (the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) is better utilized,” Kvirikashvili concluded.

In Turkmenistan, Giorgi Kvirikashvili is accompanied by Finance Minister Dimitri Kumsishvili, Economy Minister Giorgi Gakharia, Energy Minister Ilia Eloshvili, Regional Developmen Minister Zurab Alavidze, Deputy Foreign Minister Davit Jalagania, as well as the Prime Minister’s Foreign and Energy Advisers Tedo Japaridze and Gogi Vashakmadze, respectively.

Turkmenistan is the leading trade partner for Georgia among Central Asian countries, according to the State Statistics Office, Geostat. Georgia’s trade turnover with Turkmenistan stood at USD 85.7 million in 2016, with exports at USD 10.3 million (USD 16 million in 2015) and imports at USD 75.4 million (USD 112 million in 2015).

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