Turkey, Georgia regional “pillars of stability” - Ambassador
Ali Kaan Orbay, the Turkish Ambassador in Georgia, appeared in the Georgian Parliament on Tuesday. Photo: Nikoloz Samkharadze Twitter
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Ali Kaan Orbay, the Turkish Ambassador in Georgia, on Tuesday said his country and Georgia represented “pillars of stability” in the South Caucasus despite “quite challenging” security environment in the region.
Addressing a joint session of the Committees of Foreign Relations, Diaspora and Caucasus Affairs in the Georgian Parliament, the diplomat claimed the states had remained “safe, strong and stable pillars of stability” despite the challenges, and noted “Georgia fulfils its duty of a safe country very well”.
Pointing to the ongoing occupation of the 20 percent of the Georgian territory by Russia, the Ambassador expressed his hope the country would reintegrate its regions peacefully, before reaffirming his Government's “strong support” for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Hailing “exemplary bilateral ties”, the diplomat said the cooperation had been developing “steadily and successfully” over the years, with “all agreements” fulfilled.
Grateful to host the ???????? Ambassador Ali Kaan Orbay at the Foreign Relations Committee hearing. We value our strong strategic partnership with Türkiye and appreciate the insights on Georgian-Turkish political/economic/military cooperation & Turkish foreign policy priorities. ???????????????????? pic.twitter.com/vV0BMICk59
— Nikoloz Samkharadze (@Samkharadze79) November 7, 2023
He described the free trade deal signed between the states in 2008 as a “key agreement” along with the visa-free travel deal concluded in 2011.
The countries have upgraded their ties to strategic partnership, with bilateral trade hitting $2.5 billion last year”, said the Ambassador and added the Turkish President and the Georgian Prime Minister had agreed in 2022 to double the figure in the coming years.
Saying the countries were also developing cultural and people-to-people ties, the Ambassador stressed his Government believed in Georgia’s “welfare and a stable and safe future”.
In his remarks Orbay also responded to the killing of a Georgian citizen by the Russian-controlled occupation forces on Monday and illegal detention of another local, and extended his condolences to the family of the deceased man.