site.btaMeeting of Presidents of Turkiye, Georgia, Reconfirms Strategic Partnership between the Two Nations

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed President Mikheil Kavelashvili of Georgia, who is paying an official visit to Türkiye, with an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex. In a joint statement after the meeting, that was streamed on the social networks by the Republic of Turkiye Directorate of Communications, Erdogan said that the two countries remain strategic partners and reconfirm their wish for deepening economic cooperation. 

"The fact that our country has been Georgia's biggest trading partner for 17 years clearly shows that our relations are built on solid foundations. We achieved our trade target of 3 billion dollars in recent years, and we are now consistently advancing towards our new target of 5 billion dollars. We are committed to encouraging mutual investments. Thanks to the favourable environment Georgia provides, over 2,000 of our companies operate in the country. Direct Turkish investments are approaching 2.5 billion dollars," said the Turkish President.

He also pointed out that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway constitutes the backbone of the Middle Corridor, and the commencement of its operations in full capacity "is of great importance to us all."

President Mikheil Kavelashvili expressed his gratitude to Erdogan for hosting the high-level summit in Ankara and announced that he had invited the Turkish president to visit Tbilisi. “For us, Turkiye’s support for Georgia’s territorial integrity, as well as support for our country’s European perspective, is extremely important,” he said.

Among the key priorities highlighted by both countries are the mechanisms for trilateral cooperation between Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, as well as the railway line connecting the three countries. Both Turkiye and Georgia are convinced that this will bring security and further boost economic relations.

Erdogan announced a plan for the foreign ministers of the Turkiye, Georgia, and Azerbaijan to meet with Turkiye as host. Once parliamentary recesses end, a meeting between the speakers of the three parliaments will also be held, he added.

The two Presidents also discussed regional and international issues such as the peace process in the Caucasus, Black Sea security in the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the situation in Gaza, and the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“Georgia will continue to work for peace in the region, as well as to support peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We believe that our cooperation with Turkiye is very important for regional stability, and the mechanism between Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan is a very good example of this,” Mikheil Kavelashvili noted.