Georgian PM lauds Turkey as “major” global player, “unique” ties on country’s 100th anniversary

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday lauded Turkey as “one of the major regional and global players” and commended the “unique friendship and brotherhood” between the two states in his address at a reception dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in Tbilisi. 

Extending his congratulations to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his people on the “historic date”, the head of the Georgian Government stressed Turkey had transformed itself into one of the “key” states worldwide due to its “unwavering ambition and consistent policies”. 

Turkey has become one of the major political and economic players both regionally and globally. We highly appreciate Turkey's significant contribution to promoting peace, stability and development both in the neighbourhood and beyond”, Garibashvili said. 

Highlighting the “unique” bilateral cooperation since Georgia’s regaining of independence in 1991, the PM said the partnership had gradually turned into a “solid strategic partnership”, which he claimed was “particularly evident” in “dynamic economic” ties.

Describing Turkey as one of Georgia's “main” trade partners over the years, Garibashvili said the bilateral trade turnover had amounted to two billion dollars in the first eight months of this year, and expressed his hope the figure would increase to three billion dollars by the end of this year. 

He also noted Turkish companies continued to invest in Georgia and foreign direct investment had reached almost $370 million in the last three years, while the number of Turkish businesses in Georgia exceeded 10,000. 

Speaking about the strategic location of the two countries, Garibashvili said the states were playing a “crucial role” in connecting Europe and Asia, and stressed transport and energy would remain “key sectors” in relations to increase connectivity through the Middle Corridor - a logistics route connecting Central Asia and China to Europe via the South Caucasus.

In his comments Garibashvili also highlighted the importance of existing and planned regional energy and infrastructure projects, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines, as well as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. 

The PM noted the “fruitful bilateral ties” were “crucial” not only in terms of mutual economic achievements, but also in ensuring “peace, stability and prosperity” in the South Caucasus region.