PM praises Black Sea submarine cable project as “Georgian initiative"
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday stressed the importance of the recently signed Black Sea submarine cable international project and said the endeavour was a “Georgian initiative", in remarks to the Ambassadors Conference in Tbilisi. Photo: PM's press office
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday stressed the importance of the recently signed Black Sea submarine cable international project and said the endeavour was a “Georgian initiative", in remarks to the Ambassadors Conference in Tbilisi.
Speaking at the event bringing together heads of Georgian diplomatic missions and representatives of the foreign office in end-of-year review of foreign policy outcomes, Garibashvili said the energy project - signed earlier this month between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania - had been initiated during his visit to Brussels last year.
The initiative involves the construction of a high-voltage underwater transmission grid to connect the power transmission lines and systems of the four countries and allow the export of green energy to Europe.
I had [the initial] conversation about this project last year, when I was on one of my visits to Brussels, and we presented it as one of our flagship projects”, the PM told the diplomats.
“It was after this that active negotiations began with our European partners, with our neighbour and friend state Azerbaijan [as well as] with Romania - which is also our strategic partner and friend state - [before further work began] on the implementation of this project", Garibashvili said.
The head of the Government called the deal a "strategic, historic project” that would "further strengthen" Georgia's sovereignty, energy security and independence - an outcome he said would "naturally affect the country and its people".
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday said the recently signed Black Sea Submarine Cable project would help Georgia become an “important contributor” of the European Union in economy and energy sectors.
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Monday highlighted his Government had been the “initiator and author” of the Black Sea submarine electricity cable project, signed by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary on Saturday.
Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze and Kadri Simson, the European Commissioner for Energy Affairs, discussed projects between the country and the European Union, as well as the convergence of the Georgian legislation with the European law, at the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community last week.
The high officials of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania and Hungary on Saturday signed an Agreement on the Black Sea Submarine Electricity Cable project in Bucharest, to export green energy to Europe via Georgia.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday noted the “difficulty” of the past year on the international scene and noted developments throughout 2022 had compelled the country’s Government to ensure efforts in territorial integrity, expansion of partnerships and promotion of peace, security and prosperity in the neighbourhood.
Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, Georgia's Representative to the European Union, on Monday said the bloc “positively assessed” the ongoing implementation of the conditions set by the European Council for granting the country the membership candidate status.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said the recently signed Black Sea submarine cable international project, a move initiated by his Government, would ensure “direct connection” between Georgian and European energy systems, in comments summing up the Government’s work throughout the year.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday hailed the “very important, historical” projects implemented with Azerbaijan, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Black Sea Strategic Submarine Electricity Cable projects, noting the relations between the countries have been “tested by time” and “at the highest level”.
Economic processes in Georgia and creation of a “healthy environment for business and investment” were discussed on Thursday by Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili and members of the European Union-Georgia Business Council, a non-profit association working to encourage investment and trade between the state and the bloc.
Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze on Saturday said the Black Sea submarine cable international project, initiated by Georgia, was an “object of international interest”.
Georgian Government officials and professionals from the Italian consulting company CESI on Tuesday visited western Georgia's Black Sea coastal town of Anaklia to select the approximate route and locations for the Black Sea submarine electricity cable project, an international initiative to connect the South Caucasus power grid to that of Europe.
Officials from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania and Hungary on Thursday met in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi to discuss various stages of the implementation of the Black Sea submarine electricity cable project, a new transmission route to deliver green energy from Azerbaijan to Europe, the Georgian Ministry of Economy announced.
The European Union “strongly supports” the Black Sea submarine cable project, a new transmission route to deliver green energy from Azerbaijan to Europe, and hopes the South Caucasus will become a “very important” source of energy for Europe, Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, said on Thursday.
Sebastian Molineus, the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, on Thursday said the Black Sea submarine cable project would contribute to a “very strong” economic and political connection between Georgia, the South Caucasus and European countries.
Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze and James Appathurai, the NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, on Wednesday discussed reforms in Georgia’s energy sector at their meeting in Tbilisi.
Georgian-German relations, priority areas of cooperation and ways of further developing them were discussed on Thursday by the Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili and members of a delegation of the European Union Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag.