Baku, March 12, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili who is on an official visit to Baku.

President Ilham Aliyev welcomed Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

They posed for photographs.

President Ilham Aliyev then had a meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

President Ilham Aliyev said:

-Dear Mr Prime Minister,

I sincerely greet you. Welcome to Azerbaijan. I`m sure that your visit will play an important role in developing Georgia-Azerbaijan friendship and brotherhood relations. We are successfully cooperating in a number of areas. I`m glad that trade is growing. I`m glad that Azerbaijan ranks the first among the countries investing in Georgia. We have retained this leadership since 2012. This demonstrates that there is a very good investment climate in your country. At the same time, it demonstrates that our relations are at a very high level.

Of course, there are a number of important global projects that bind us. One of them - the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars - we inaugurated together with you last October. Our cooperation will reach a higher level thanks to the launch of the South Caucasus gas pipeline and TANAP project this year. That is, our cooperation is going beyond a regional format to reach the global level. And it is our friendship and our brotherhood that lie at the heart of all these successful steps. I`m sure that these relations will continue to serve the interests of our peoples.

Once again I greet you. I`m sure that your visit will be very successful and yield very good results.

X X X

Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said:

-Dear Mr President,

Thanks for your sincere welcome. I`m glad that this visit has taken place. This is a special event for us because Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of Georgia. Fortunately, our economic relations are steadily developing. Last year the bilateral ties were characterized by special development.

Azerbaijan is the first investment partner for Georgia. According to the recently published statistical data, the Republic of Azerbaijan also ranks first for Georgia for the number of visits. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and Southern Gas Corridor projects are of great significance. The Azerbaijani gas will then be transported to Europe via the Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic pipelines, which are the segments of the Southern Gas Corridor. These projects are very important from economic and geopolitical points of view. Our cooperation in regional formats is very significant. We maintain both political consultations, and cooperation in a global format. Georgia has always supported Azerbaijan`s position. This is a sign of our strategic relationship. I extend my congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the first republic in Azerbaijan. This is a landmark event for both Georgia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. I hope we will celebrate this decently. Once again, I am grateful for the sincere welcome.

X X X

Then an official dinner was hosted on behalf of President Ilham Aliyev in honor of Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.