Turkish President touches down in Tbilisi

The Turkish President Abdullah Gul has arrived in Tbilisi to attend the trilateral summit of Georgian, Azerbaijan and Turkish leaders on May 6.

Gul’s plane landed at Tbilisi International Airport about 5.30pm this afternoon while Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is set to arrive early Tuesday morning.

The Turkish Pesident was met by Georgia’s Economy Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and head of the Prime Minister’s Administration, Lasha Abashidze.

"This is a very important visit and it stresses once again that there is a strategic partnership between Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey,” Kvirikashvili said.

He added the partnership covered a variety of spheres including trade, investment, transport and energy issues.

The Turkish President arrived in Tbilisi accompanied by a delegation consisting of about 100 people from the business sector. Gul’s official duties are scheduled to begin tomorrow.

The Tbilisi Summit 2014 will focus on the results of the past 20-year economic, trade, transport and energy cooperation between the Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Within the summit, leaders of the three states will discuss ongoing projects and planned endeavours. The Presidents of Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan will also hold joint meetings to discuss ways to further their relationships.

Holding the high-level trilateral summit was agreed when Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili visited Turkey and Azerbaijan earlier this year.