Georgia to join Lapis Lazuli transit corridor connecting Europe and Asia

Georgian Vice Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze is in Turkmenistan today to sign an important deal that will make Georgia part of another transport corridor connecting Europe and Asia.

Janelidze will sign the Lapis Lazuli Corridor Agreement together with four other nations on the sidelines of the Seventh Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA VII) in Ashgabat.

The agreement will be signed between Georgia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The Lapis-Lazuli transit, trade and transport route aims to enhance regional economic cooperation and connectivity between the five countries involved, thereby expanding economic and cultural links between Europe and Asia.

In doing so, the initiative seeks to improve transport infrastructure and procedures - including for road, rail, and sea - increase exports, and expand the economic opportunities of citizens in the countries benefiting from this new transport corridor.

"By joining the Lapis lazuli deal, Georgia is becoming part of yet another important transit corridor that connects Europe and Asia”, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

While in Ashgabat, Janelidze is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Turkmen high officials.