Georgia-Azerbaijan pledge to enhance bilateral trade relations
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Georgia and Azerbaijan have taken a major step forward to enhance bilateral trade relations.
The two countries will create a bilateral working group that will learn the export potential of both countries and decide how to increase trade turnover between Georgia and Azerbaijan.
This was decided today when Georgia’s Economy Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili met his Azerbaijani counterpart Shahin Mustafayev in Tbilisi.
Azerbaijan was the major investor country for Georgia. During the first seven months of 2016 Georgia enjoyed 30 percent more investments from Azerbaijan, reaching $282.5 million.
At the meeting the Ministers accented the benefits of bilateral transport cooperation and highlighted positive developments in tourism relations.
Between January-September 2016 Georgia hosted 1,170,301 visitors from Azerbaijan. This was 11 percent more year-on-year.
Georgia will play an important transit role connecting China, Turkey and Europe via the Trans-Caspian international transport route which runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then through Turkey and Ukraine to Europe.
The first ever professionally completed map of the historic railway line linking Georgia with Azerbaijan and Turkey has been published to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the Georgian national railway.
Georgia has attracted $445 million USD in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the second quarter (Q2) of 2016.
The top officials from Georgia and Azerbaijan are pledging to spare no effort to support and strengthen their "neighbourly relations” which have "truly strategic character”.
Georgia and Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministries have signed a cooperation plan for 2017. The deal was signed yesterday during Georgian Defence Minister’s first official visit to Baku.
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has described his recent visit to Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku as an opportunity for Georgia to express its positions on a number of current political processes.