Georgia joins Lapis Lazuli transit corridor connecting Europe and Asia
Tweet 
Share
Georgia has become part of the Lapis Lazuli Corridor, a transit, trade and transport route that connects Europe and Asia by road, rail and sea thanks to a long-awaited new international trade and transport corridor deal.
Five Nations, Georgia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed the major agreement yesterday in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on the sidelines of the 7th Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA VII).
Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze signing Lapis Lazuli corridor agreement. Photo by Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We pay particular attention to our participation in the transport route, Lapis Lazuli, initiated by the government of Afghanistan and strongly supported by Turkmenistan,” Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze said at the summit.
The signing of the agreement will significantly contribute to the development of cooperation between the members of the project in the areas of trade and transport and beyond. We are convinced that an important part of the region’s future lies in new corridors and projects like Lapis Lazuli,” he added.
Signing ceremony Lapis Lazuli - We are convinced that an important part of region’s future lies in new corridors and projects like Lapis Lazuli pic.twitter.com/wu0BZYkwcd
— MFA of Georgia (@MFAgovge) November 15, 2017
The Lapis Lazuli Corridor will begin in Afghanistan’s northern Aqina port in Faryab province and Torghandi in western Herat province and will run through to Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan.
From there it will cross the Caspian Sea and will link the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Tbilisi and Georgia’s Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti.
It will then connect with Kars in eastern Turkey before linking to Istanbul and Europe.
Finally, this major international trade and transport corridor will connect Afghanistan directly to Europe.
The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) meanwhile said the Lapis Lazuli Corridor is the nearest and cheapest way to transport Afghan and Asian goods to Europe. It also said that 80 percent of goods to Europe will be transported by railway and also across the Caspian and Black sea by ship.
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.
Georgia and Turkmenistan are intensifying bilateral economic relations. Latest data revealed between January-October 2015, trade turnover between the two countries had increased by 63 percent in comparison to the previous year.
Georgia and Turkmenistan are deepening bilateral cooperation across a range of sectors including economic, transport, energy, tourism, culture and science.
European Commission’s Director-General for Mobility and Transport Henrik Hololei said Georgia has excellent potential and opportunities for investing in transport.
Georgian and Turkmen top officials believe the two nations have potential to further enhance transport-transit ties and say a recently signed deal can play an important role in the process.
Afghanistan is expected to send its first cargo load to Europe through the Lapis Lazuli route that passes through Georgia in the next six weeks, reports 1TV of Afghanistan.
More than 175 tonnes of cotton, dried fruit and sesame are the first export products that Afghanistan will deliver to Europe through the Lapis Lazuli transit route which passes through Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Nine trucks with goods from Afghanistan traversing the Caspian Sea en route to Turkey landed in Georgia today, announces the Ministry of Economy.