Georgia-Turkey-Azerbaijan officials discuss cooperation and regional development

Parliamentary representatives from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey gathered in Batumi to discuss each nation’s foreign policy and potential issues.

The Chair of each country’s Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee – Tedo Japaridze of Georgia, Samad Seyidov of Azerbaijan and Ahmet Berat Conkar of Turkey – attended the second meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs in Georgia’s Black Sea resort city today.

At today’s meeting the three officials stressed joint strategic cooperation of the three countries was important for regional development. They discussed foreign policy issues, cooperation, mutual relations in the economic, investment and cultural sphere, as well as regional security issues were discussed at the meeting.

As Georgia hosted the event, the country’s Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili also attended. Afterwards he said the "useful” meeting would help develop and strength bilateral relations between Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

"We shared information on the current situation in our countries and made strategic plans for the future,” he said.

"Through this meeting we are sending messages to our societies that working relationships between these three neighbour countries help to guarantee security and stability in the region. [In comparison] we should deliver as much information to our European and American friends and clearly show them the potential threats unfriendly neighbours have on the stability of our region,” Usupashvili said.

Azerbaijan’s representative Seyidov said the meeting was "historical” for the three countries.

"The main goal of the meeting is peace and harmonic friendship relations between our three neighbour countries. I strongly believe that together we will be more powerful,” he said.

"Besides our territorial neighbourhood, we have a common geopolitical history and responsibilities. But it is important that such meetings are held now at the chairman level of the parliamentary committees.”

Meanwhile Conka, the Turkish representative, said this meeting would help guarantee future trilateral cooperation.

"We held our second [Parliamentary of Foreign Affairs Committee chairman] meeting in Georgia and it was really fruitful. We have close strategic relationships with Georgia and Azerbaijan,” he said.

"These meetings allow us to better define our needs and future planning. We are supporting Georgia’s aspiration to join NATO and express our full support. I believe that our partnership is a guarantee of regional stability,” Conka said.

The first meeting of Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee chairpersons of each country was held in Baku on April 22, 2014. After Georgia, the next meeting will be held in Turkey’s capital Ankara.