Georgia’s PM in Greece for opening of new east-west pipeline

Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has travelled to Greece for a working visit.

Today Kvirikashvili is due to meet his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras.

The Georgian leader will be one of European and American high officials that attend a special ceremony marking the beginning of construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in Thessaloniki, northern Greece.

The ceremony is set to take place later today.

The TAP will bring gas from western Turkey to Greece, Albania and across the Adriatic to Italy.

Once built the pipeline will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route that will open up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500km long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

Kvirikashvili was accompanied to Greece by Georgia’s Energy Minister and Vice PM Kakha Kaladze and Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze.