In his remarks at the ongoing Economic Forum of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia in Baku on November 24, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said his government was interested in further strengthening partnership and cooperation with Azerbaijan and Central Asian states by saying the ties would bring more prosperity and stability to partners.

Garibashvili said that the current geopolitical context had increased the role of the South Caucasus as an important transit and logistics hub. Garibashvili highlighted the significance of the Middle Corridor - a transportation route network connecting China with Europe through the South Caucasus region. Garibashvili said the Corridor was becoming an interesting alternative to the existing routes connecting Europe and Asia, considering the growing importance of diversification and expansion of trade on the East-West route.

"The Middle Corridor on the Eurasian continent is positioned as the fastest, most economical, and reliable channel for delivering cargo and hydrocarbon resources. Therefore, together with our Azerbaijani and Kazakh colleagues, we are actively working to remove the obstacles in this Corridor and focus on improving infrastructure, increasing capacity, simplifying procedures, and introducing a unified tariff system," he said.

Garibashvili also said his government invested significantly in large-scale projects to promote regional trade. "In recent years, investments have been made in the renovation of the country's highways, railways, and airports. Now we are working on the Anaklia deep sea port project, the capacity of which will be 100 million tonnes per year," he noted about the initiative for the facility on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. "We are also working together on the Black Sea submarine electricity cable project, signed last year in Bucharest by the leaders of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Hungary, and Romania. We think that this project will be very interesting not only for our region but also for Europe," he pointed out.

The PM noted that the cargo turnover of the Georgian Railways had increased by 48 percent during the last five years, adding that after the completion of the modernization project, the capacity would double to 48 million tonnes per year by the end of 2024. "We are actively working with Azerbaijan on constructing the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line, which will be completed in 2024. The government is also making a substantial capital investment in the [domestic] East-West Highway project. We are also working on the development of a new airport that has the potential to become a regional transit aviation hub," the Georgian official said.

Garibashvili highlighted Georgia's strategic location, attractive business environment, and important role in East-West connectivity. He said the country had been a reliable partner for energy resource transit for many years, and its overall positive business and institutional outlook was consistent with the common goal of ensuring stability and prosperity throughout the region. "[Georgia] plays an important role in the supply chain and ensures the continuous and safe transit of crude oil and natural gas through the South Caucasus. We are interested in deepening even closer relations with the Central Asian region by fully using the existing potential," the prime minister noted.

Moreover, Irakli Garibashvili said his government's main goal was to maintain peace, ensure stability, and support economic development.

Garibashvili said his government had achieved the goals due to pragmatic, thoughtful foreign and sound economic policies despite instability due to security challenges in the region and the world. "In recent years, the economy of our country has grown by 10 percent and more than 10 percent in 2021 and 2022", he said, adding that the growth continued in 2023 at seven percent and inflation at less than one percent. At the end of the year, gross domestic product per capita is expected to be more than $8,000, which is a double figure in the last three years. In 2024, the GDP per capita will be more than $8,500," he noted.

The Georgian PM expressed interest in closer relations with the Central Asian region by using the existing potential entirely. He also noted that the dynamics of recent years were very positive. Garibashvili said Georgia's trade turnover with Azerbaijan had increased by 16 percent last year and by the exact figure over the first ten months of the current year.

In his remarks at the ongoing event, Garibashvili noted that his government was actively pursuing integration into the EU. "Over the last ten years, we have signed the Association Agreement, Free Trade Agreement with [the EU] [in 2014], visa-free travel with the [bloc], [then] last year we received the European perspective and in December we expect the [EU] candidate status," Garibashvili added.

Meeting with the President of Azerbaijan

On November 24, Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, met with Irakli Garibashvili.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili thanked President Ilham Aliyev for inviting him to participate in the SPECA Summit as a guest of honor and extended his congratulations on the 25th anniversary of SPECA. 

During the conversation, they commended the development of friendship and strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Georgia. They shared their views on the development of the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, particularly transport and logistics cooperation between Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Central Asian countries, as well as the rise in Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway capacity.