Turkish PM thanks Georgian PM for contribution to Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has thanked the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili for his contribution to the successful implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project facilitating the transport of passengers and goods between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

The pair talked over the phone this morning.

Kvirikashvili stressed the role of Yildirim in the modernisation of the transport sector of Turkey in recent years.

Later today, Kvirikashvili will attend the official opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway.

The first train of the BTK railway, a key link in the modern Silk Road Railway that aims to carry goods between Beijing and London, is set to depart today from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku with Kvirikashvili in attendance along with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Initially the railway is expected to carry nearly 1 million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight annually before unlocking a freight transportation potential of up to 50 million tons per year.