Azerbaijani president set to visit Georgia today
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili will host Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev later today in Tbilisi. Photo: government of Georgia press office
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Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev is set to visit Georgia on his second official trip today, with the visiting official and Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili scheduled to make joint statements for the media later during the day, the Georgian government administration has announced.
The top officials are scheduled to make statements for the media at Château Mukhrani, an estate promoting the country's centuries-long winemaking traditions, in the central Mtskheta municipality.
The visit, on the backdrop of Russia ongoing aggression against Ukraine, will mark Aliyev’s second arrival to Georgia after 2015, while the head of the Georgian government visited Azerbaijan twice last year, where the officials praised “centuries-long brotherly relations” and mentioned the importance of regional projects which have been carried out through joint efforts in recent years.
Prior to the visit, top Georgian officials had pledged to further strengthen the country’s role as a “strong contributor” to peace and energy security in the South Caucasus region.
Georgian foreign minister Ilia Darchiashvili said earlier this week Tbilisi was ready “at any time” to host Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders “for a calm and peaceful dialogue” to ensure regional stability amid tensions periodically flaring up between the latter over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Azerbaijani president hosting the Georgian PM in Zagulba palace in September of the last year. Photo: government of Georgia press office.
This is an ongoing process and one of the key priorities for the Georgian government. Through the active involvement of prime minister Irakli Garibashvili, [Armenia and Azerbaijan] have already come to concrete results. The recent meeting of [Armenian and Azerbaijani] foreign ministers in Tbilisi points to the special trust Georgia enjoys among its friends”, said Darchiashvili.
Georgian prime minister and Philip Reeker, the senior adviser of the United States department of state for Caucasus negotiations, had brokered a deal in June 2021, with the deal involving Azerbaijan’s release of 15 Armenian prisoners of war in exchange for receiving from Armenia a map of landmines in the Agdam district of the region.
In the agreement, which followed the most recent conflict between the two counties, the captives were handed over to Armenia on the Azerbaijani-Georgian border, with the Georgian authorities attending the swap.
In July this year, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, held their inaugural meeting in Tbilisi, as part of the Georgian government's Peaceful Neighborhood initiative for the South Caucasus, initiated by Garibashvili to facilitate talks between the regional states.
Georgian foreign minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Thursday said the government was “actively working” with neighbouring countries and partners both in Central Asia and in the European Union to further strengthen its role as a “strong contributor” to peace and energy security in the South Caucasus region.
The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava is paying an official visit to Azerbaijan. During the meeting with her Azerbaijani counterpart Mikayil Jabbarov, Minister Turnava noted that Azerbaijan remains one of Georgia’s main trading partners.
Georgian and Azerbaijani Prime Ministers Irakli Garibashvili and Ali Asadov have pledged to deepen their countries’ economic ties at the inter-governmental economic commission session held in Baku earlier today. PM Garibashvili said Azerbaijan is not only a friend and a neighbor of Georgia, but one of the main strategic partners as well.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili is visiting Azerbaijan today, where he will meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. During the visit Georgian and Azerbaijani intergovernmental economic commissions, chaired by Garibashvili and Aliyev, will hold a meeting and sign a memorandum on cooperation.
Georgian foreign minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday said prime minister Irakli Garibashvili and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev would have the opportunity to discuss “all important issues” in bilateral relations during their meeting as part of the latter’s visit to Georgia.
The “special relations and strategic partnership” between Georgia and Azerbaijan were discussed on Monday in a meeting between Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.
Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev on Monday said there was an “opportunity to hold consultations” between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, adding his government was “ready to start this format today” in case the Armenian counterparts expressed interest.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday hailed the Peaceful Neighbourhood initiative, launched by him to facilitate talks between South Caucasus countries, at a press conference with visiting Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev in the central Georgian city of Mtskheta.
Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday discussed questions related to “strategic partnership” with Azerbaijan and prospects of further strengthening bilateral ties with visiting Azerbaijani defence minister Zakir Hasanov, the government press office said.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday praised the “strategic partnership” and “unique relations and friendship” with Azerbaijan in a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ali Asadov in Tbilisi.
The Georgian foreign office on Friday strongly condemned the attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran that saw one security official killed and two guards injured.
Zurab Pataradze, the Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, on Friday said Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s ongoing visit to Azerbaijan was expected to ensure “concrete benefits” in bilateral cooperation and improve Georgia’s economic indicators.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday lauded his “great meeting” with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday, which he said had been focused on “strengthening” bilateral ties and “fostering economic growth”.