GD FM Botchorishvili Visits Turkey
On February 26 Georgian Dream (GD) Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili visited Turkey and met with her Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. On February 27, Botchorishvili also met with Numan Kurtulmuş, the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. During the meetings, the parties discussed bilateral cooperation between Georgia and Turkey in various sectors.
Meeting with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan
The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral relations and strategic partnership. According to the press release of Georgian MFA, economic cooperation was a key issue, with both sides recognizing Turkey as Georgia’s leading trading partner. The discussion highlighted the need to maximize existing economic potential and underlined the importance of deepening trade engagement.
The parties discussed important issues on the dynamic agenda between Georgia and the Republic of Turkey, including in the political and economic spheres. The importance of using the High-Level Strategic Partnership Council format and the need to exchange high-level and top-level visits was emphasized.
The parties also discussed the current situation in the region and the importance of joint efforts to address security challenges. “In this context, the role of Turkey as an important regional player was noted,” the press release said. “Maka Botchorishvili once again confirmed Georgia’s readiness to contribute to the process of promoting peace and stability in the South Caucasus,” it added.
The sides also discussed the current regional situation and ongoing security challenges. Botchorishvili reaffirmed Georgia’s commitment to contribute to efforts to promote peace and stability in the South Caucasus.
Regional cooperation in transport and energy was another focus of the discussions. Both sides underlined the strategic importance of the Black Sea and the need to fully exploit its existing potential to increase connectivity and trade.
The Georgian MFA said that “the parties reaffirmed the importance of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey trilateral strategic partnership platform”, with Turkey set to host the next meeting of the three countries’ foreign ministers. In addition, the discussion highlighted the role of major infrastructure projects, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Southern Gas Corridor, in strengthening regional integration within the framework of the “Middle Corridor” concept.
“Honored to meet today with the FM of Turkey H.E Hakan Fidan. Grateful for his generous hospitality and open discussions on important regional and global issues. Strengthening our strategic partnership and fostering political, economic and trade ties between Georgian and Turkey is high on our agenda,” GD FM Botchorishvili wrote on social media after the meeting.
Meeting with Speaker of Turkish Parliament Numan Kurtulmuş
On February 27, Botchorishvili met with Numan Kurtulmuş, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. According to a press release from the Georgian Foreign Ministry, “the meeting focused on key issues concerning strategic bilateral cooperation between the two countries”.
The sides underlined the importance of strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation. Special emphasis was placed on the forthcoming visit of the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament to Turkey as well as on the promotion of cooperation between parliamentary friendship groups.
The two sides also underlined the growing bilateral trade ties and cooperation on strategic transit and energy projects.
“Discussions also covered security challenges in the South Caucasus region and the significance of promoting peace and stability,” Georgian MFA said. The meeting also highlighted trilateral cooperation between Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, including in the area of parliamentary dimension.
NOTE: The news was updated on February 27, 2025 to follow information regarding Botchorishvili’s meeting with the speaker of Turkish parliament, Numan Kurtulmuş.
Also Read:
- 25/02/2025 – GD FM Botchorishvili Meets UN Secretary-General, Addresses Human Rights Council
- 06/12/2024 – FM Botchorishvili Attends OSCE Ministerial in Malta
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)