Azerbaijani
companies are planning to increase their investments in Georgia, says Prime
Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili as he ends his official visit to Baku.
Garibashvili
rounded off his two-day visit to the capital of Azerbaijan, during which he met
with a number of Azerbaijani high officials including President Ilham Aliyev
and Prime Minister Artur Rasizade.
"This
is my first official visit to Baku [and] we discussed many issues and
reaffirmed that we are strategic partners,” Garibashvili told reporters today.
"Georgia
is a reliable partner of Azerbaijan. It is planned that Azerbaijani companies
will increase investments in Georgia’s economy,” Garibashvili said.
Within
his meeting with Prime Minister Rasizade, Garibashvili discussed the idea of
deepening economic, trade and politics relations. Afterwards, the Georgian
delegation met Azerbaijani cabinet members and discussed specific ways to
improve the level of cooperation between the two countries
Special
focus was drawn to the countries’ partnership in the energy sector as well as
the Shah Deniz energy project, in which energy generated in Georgia and
Azerbaijan would be exported to Europe by means of expanding the South Caucasus
Pipeline and construction of the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the
Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).Garibashvili noted he would return to Baku on
September 20 to attend the signing ceremony to mark the launch of the Southern
Caucasus pipeline expansion project.
"This
ceremony is further confirmation of the Georgian-Azerbaijani strategic
partnership," he said.
Azerbaijan’s
Energy Minister Natig Aliyev spoke highly of his meeting with the Georgian
official and stressed the vast amount of benefits both countries could gain
from cooperating together.
"We
have great intentions to cooperate in the energy sector. First of all, this
refers to the South Caucasus gas pipeline, through which 2.5 billion in direct
investments will be carried out in Georgia,” he said
Georgia’s
Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze noted Georgia would be able to obtain five
percent of the gas that travelled through the pipeline.
"So
the more gas that passes through the pipeline, the more important it will be
for Georgia,” he noted.
In Baku,
Garibashvili and the 10-person Georgian delegation also attended the Azerbaijan
International Defence Industry Exhibition (ADEX 2014), in which 200 companies
from 34 countries took part.
Garibashvili
was also introduced to the White City project - one of the largest projects in
Baku – that combined hotels, residential apartments and recreational areas for
people of all ages.
Before
the Georgian delegation left Baku, Garibashvili honoured the grave of the late
Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev and his wife Zarifa.
The Georgian delegation left Baku earlier today.
The team were farewelled by Azerbaijan’s Vice Prime Minister Abid Sharifov and
Ambassador to Georgia Azer Huseynoff at the Heydar Aliev International Airport.
Source: agenda.ge
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