Georgian PM Bakhtadze meets Azerbaijani President Aliyev in Baku

Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze is visiting Azerbaijan for the first time in the position, with his first meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev taking place today.

The meeting was held at the Presidential Zagulba Palace in Baku.

“Georgia and Azerbaijan are strategic partners and this is a tremendous achievement,” underlined Bakhtadze in his remarks before the beginning of the meeting.

“I am thrilled that trade volumes are increasing between our countries. According to our expectations, we will hit [USD] one billion this year, however neither this is anywhere close to our full potential. I am convinced that we can increase trade volume by 50-60% in two years through mutual cooperation,” stressed Bakhtadze, while commenting on the results of the face to face meeting.

“Georgia and Azerbaijan jointly implement significant projects. Our shared initiatives carried out in the transport sector have great importance throughout Europe and Asia. Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey are actively cooperating within the scope of all these projects.”

“I believe that additional efforts need to be mobilised to increase trade volumes. I know that Georgia has a very favorable investment climate. We are thrilled that size-wise Azerbaijan is the largest investor in Georgia. We will discuss a number of topics today and will touch upon regional cooperation," emphasised the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev after the meeting.

Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs assessed his meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart as “very productive” on his official Twitter account: