Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili met with Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov, where the leaders focused on the strong, strategic partnership between the two countries and centuries-old good neighborly relations.

"Discussion at the meeting touched on the most important regional projects. It was noted that according to the data of January-September 2023, Azerbaijan is the 5th largest trade partner of Georgia. During the conversation, they discussed the prospects of expanding cooperation in the direction of attracting direct investments.

The Georgian PM also noted that through close cooperation with Azerbaijan, Georgia is ready to deepen regional cooperation, in accordance with common interests, on energy security issues. The parties talked about the importance of Georgia-Turkey-Azerbaijan trilateral cooperation.

The Head of the Government of Georgia thanked the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan for the firm, unwavering support of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, as well as for the non-recognition policy. At the same time, Irakli Garibashvili confirmed to Ali Asadov Georgia's steadfast support for the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Attention was paid to establishing stability and peace in the region. The head of the government thanked Ali Asadov for his participation in the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum and emphasized that the mentioned event is important and relevant, taking into account the current events in the world.

Within the framework of the “Tbilisi Silk Road Forum," to strengthen the transit corridor of Georgia, in particular, to stimulate shipments between China, Europe, and Turkey, the creation of a joint venture between Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan - Middle Corridor Multimodal was signed.

The heads of the railways of the mentioned countries sealed the foundation agreement. They signed the charter of the new company, which defines the issues of mutual cooperation of the founders, the common approaches, and principles of the creation and operation of the enterprise.

The goal of the joint company is to promote the growth of container shipping in the Middle Corridor. "The railways of the partner countries plan to attract new block trains with active work and events and offer services to cargo owners on the basis of the "one window" principle. Fast and reliable service on the entire route - this is the main task of Middle Corridor Multimodal. We would like to remind you that the joint work between the railways of Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and the ports of the Caspian Sea has been going on since 2013," it is mentioned in the published information.

The "Middle Corridor" can create many advantages. It is safer than the northern route, while the "Middle Corridor" is faster than the ocean route, argued the Minister of Transport of Azerbaijan, Rashad Nabiyev.

In the panel discussion dedicated to the "Middle Corridor" (The Middle Corridor in the Spotlight) of the “Tbilisi Silk Road Forum," which was opened by the Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Rashad Nabiyev talked about the importance of project development. "We can transfer cargo from the border of Kazakhstan to the port of Constanta in two days, even from China to [Romania’s] Constanta, it takes 44 days by ocean," said Nabiyev.

Within the framework of the discussion, the Minister of Transport of Azerbaijan emphasized the effective cooperation between the state agencies of the "Middle Corridor" region and the importance of strengthening the ties between the countries of the corridor for the development of the project. "I can say that last year, my colleagues made quite a lot of effort to find out exactly where the challenges of the middle corridor are, and as the Minister of Economy of Georgia mentioned, last year we signed an important document - the action plan," Nabiyev noted.