President Aliyev Visits Georgia
Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, is on a 1-day visit to Tbilisi where he has already met with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
The PM hosted President Aliyev at Chateau Mukhrani, where, according to the Georgian government’s press release, the two sides discussed the security environment in the region and the world, as well as the strategic partnership between the two countries, and increasing cooperation in trade and the economy. After their meeting, PM Garibashvili and President Aliyev led a joint press conference.
Prime Minister Garibashvili’s Remarks
At the beginning of his speech, Prime Minister Garibashvili noted the “great importance” of President Aliyev’s visit while emphasizing the Azeri President’s role in the rapprochement of relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia. “I am deeply convinced that the existing high-level relations will be further strengthened for the benefit of our people and our countries,” he said.
The Georgian Prime Minister indicated that during their meeting, the two sides discussed issues “which concern the strong partnership and cooperation between our countries.” According to the Prime Minister, they also reviewed the difficult situation in the world.
In this context, Prime Minister Garibashvili emphasized the importance of peace and stability, which “is the key condition for the development of our region and the well-being of our people in general.” “We all agree that what is happening in Ukraine should be regulated through negotiations,” he added.
“We also touched upon the recent agreement reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia on starting the process of peaceful negotiations, which, of course, gives us great hope,” PM Garibashvili said and reiterated the Georgian government’s readiness to “continue and facilitate peaceful negotiations, the policy that we started and launched together.”
Prime Minister Garibashvili noted that “the mentioned Peaceful Neighborhood Initiative does not contradict and does not replace any other format of cooperation. “On the contrary, it will help, and I believe that we will do many more important things together,” he said while welcoming the initiative announced by President Aliyev in Prague to create a tripartite (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia) discussion format.
Emphasizing that Azerbaijan is the “most important strategic partner” of Georgia, PM Garibashvili said that during the meeting, the two also reviewed such jointly implemented projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, and the “importance of the Middle Corridor.”
The Prime Minister concluded by reiterating the country’s “readiness” to fully realize current and planned projects with Azerbaijan.
Note: This article will be updated with President Aliyev’s remarks as soon as they are made available.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
