2021-05-05
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, as part of his visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan, was hosted today by SahibaGafarova, Speaker of Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis National Assembly.
The meeting focused on the centuries-old friendly relations between the two countries and their plans for the future. The parties emphasized that Georgia and Azerbaijan are strategic partners and allies, also pointing out the ongoing economic cooperation between the two countries.
The role of Parliaments in the development of the relations between the countries, in both bilateral and multilateral formats, was singled out. The meting also underlined the significance of the Georgia-Azerbaijan friendship groups in the Parliaments of both countries.
"Mister Prime Minister, our countries, Azerbaijan and Georgia, are neighbors. But I would like to say that they are not only neighbors; we are friendly countries. The friendship between our peoples has a centuries-long history. Throughout these centuries, we have always supported each other. I also would like to mention that we have many similarities in our traditions. And maybe that is why many Georgians who live in Azerbaijan, they are an integral part of society. And many Azerbaijanis who live in Georgia, they are an integral part of your country. These two communities, I believe, play the role of a bridge between two peoples and countries.
Azerbaijan and Georgia are strategic partners and allies, and more than 100 intergovernmental documents have been signed; and, as I know, 15 documents are now under consideration. These documents, of course, have created a legal framework for our relationship in different spheres.
We have many types of cooperation, but the most important in my opinion is economic cooperation. Last year, in the pandemic year of 2020, the trade turnover between our countries amounted to over 500 million USD. These figures show the big volume of this cooperation.
Today, Azerbaijan is one of the largest investors in Georgia's economy, and Georgia is an active participant in the international projects implemented by our country. It should be noted that today Azerbaijan and Georgia play an important role in European energy and transport security. I mean Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines.
Mister Prime Minister, it is well known that Parliaments play an important role in the relations between countries. And I am very proud to say that we have very successful cooperation between the Georgian and Azerbaijani Parliaments. This cooperation is on bilateral and multilateral bases. In our Parliament we have the Azerbaijan-Georgia friendship working group, and the same group-I mean the friendship group of Georgia and Azerbaijan-exists in the Georgian Parliament. Traditionally, the relations between these two groups have always been strong, they are strong now, and I believe it is forever. Our national delegations successfully cooperate within many international organizations, such as the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europeand NATO, Euronest, OSCE, IPU, and many others," SahibaGafarova said.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister of Georgia underlined the importance of the strategic relations and projects between the two countries.
"Madam Speaker, honorable friends, it is a great honor to be here and meet with you. You perfectly mentioned that we are not only neighbors, but also friends. We have excellent relationships between our nations, our two countries. I had an excellent relationship prior to this with President Aliyev, with my colleagues: Minister of Interior and Minister of Defense. Now, in the capacity of Prime Minister, I had an excellent meeting with President Aliyev. We had very fruitful discussions about our strategic relationship and strategic projects that we, these two nations, developed in the 1990s and in this century. We must be determined and motivated to do more projects together. And this is in our hands, and in our capacity.
We support peace in this region. This region needs peaceful resolutions and negotiations. Georgia is your friends, and we will continue to be your friend.
I want to thank you again for receiving us, for receiving my delegation. Because of COVID, visits were not frequent, but I think we should try to arrange more meetings in the months to come. I want to take this opportunity to invite you to Georgia on behalf of the Parliament of Georgia. Mister Kakha Kuchava, who now became Speaker of Parliament, is actually Chair of the Azerbaijan-Georgia friendship group, so we have excellent grounds for developing the already fruitful and excellent relationship between the two parliamentary groups. Once again, I want to thank you. And I look forward to seeing you in Tbilisi," Irakli Garibashvili said.
Press Service of the Government Administration