Meeting of the Speakers of the Turkish and Georgian Parliaments

Following a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Shalva Papuashvili on the sidelines of the European Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Dublin on 29 September, Numan Kurtulmuş, the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, said relations between Turkey and Georgia were at an excellent level.

In his remarks, Kurtulmuş stressed that his country's government supports Georgia's territorial integrity. "The relations between Turkey and Georgia are at an excellent level. We will continue to maintain our excellent relations by intensifying our efforts," the speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly added.

Kurtulmuş said he had a very good meeting with Papuashvili and stressed the importance of security in the South Caucasus region.
Speakers of Georgian, Turkish and Azerbaijani parliaments to resume trilateral cooperation format

Irakli Chikovani, the deputy chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party group, said that the speakers of the parliaments of Georgia and Turkey had decided to restore the trilateral framework of cooperation between the institutions with the participation of their Azerbaijani counterparts. 
Chikovani said that on the sidelines of the international meeting, the legislators stressed the strategic cooperation and dynamically developing relations between their nations, as well as the possibilities of further strengthening the partnership.

They also discussed economic cooperation and security challenges in the South Caucasus region, sparked by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Georgian and Azerbaijani officials meet

On the same day, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili discussed strategic cooperation and prospects for further strengthening economic ties with visiting Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov. The meeting in Tbilisi focused on economic partnership and cooperation.

Levan Davitashvili, the Georgian Minister of Economy, and Mikayil Jabbarov also met to discuss bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries.

According to the Georgian Ministry of Economy, the meeting focused on the effective implementation of energy and transport projects at national and regional levels by both parties, and also emphasised the growth of economic relations as an important aspect of developing the partnership. The Georgian side emphasised its desire to increase exports of goods to Azerbaijan, in particular food, fertilisers, cement and agricultural products. It also mentioned a website designed to help Georgian businessmen connect with potential overseas partners, and expressed the hope that the Azerbaijani business community could use it to further develop bilateral trade relations. During the discussion on investment cooperation, Georgian officials said that the government was keen to offer Azerbaijani businessmen opportunities in tourism, energy, agriculture, logistics, information technology and other sectors.

The authorities also stressed the expansion of bilateral trade, noting that Azerbaijan, which ranks second among Georgia's main export destinations, has recently become one of the country's top five trading partners.

The Middle Corridor and the problem of attracting additional transit cargo were also discussed during the meeting. The idea of building a deep-sea port in the Black Sea port of Anaklia, Georgia, to provide a new and faster sea route between China and Europe was also mentioned by the authorities as a step forward in efforts to revive the ancient Silk Road. Georgia's location on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, a logistical component of the Europe-Asia corridor, was also mentioned. The parties also discussed the development of the Black Sea submarine electricity cable project, which aims to link the grids of the South Caucasus and European Union member states and enable the export of renewable energy to Europe.