PM’s Azerbaijani visit will ensure “concrete benefits” in bilateral ties, economic improvements - Ambassador

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 PM starts visit to Azerbaijan

Speaking to the media, the diplomat stressed the trip would be “busy” with “important discussions” on joint projects, investment opportunities, prospects to boost trade turnover, as well as questions related to transport, transit, logistics and energy, and the expansion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project. 

The head of the Georgian Government is also expected to review the Black Sea submarine cable international project with the President Ilham Aliyev, the Ambassador said.  The project was initiated by Georgia and involves the construction of a high-voltage underwater transmission grid to connect the power transmission lines and systems of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania to allow export of green energy to Europe. 

Azerbaijan is a friendly country, a strategic partner of Georgia, and the meetings of the Georgian PM and his delegation will review a number of matters, ranging from political to economic and humanitarian”, Pataradze said. 

He noted the Georgian officials would be hosted in the city of Gabala, near Baku, later on Friday to visit several enterprises and a newly opened service centre in the locality. 

Pataradze noted several “very important” events and cultural programmes would be held both in Azerbaijan and Georgia later this year that would also be discussed during the working visit. 

The visit follows Aliyev’s official trip to Georgia in October, which marked his first visit to the country since 2015, while Garibashvili had visited Azerbaijan for the last time in September 2021.