Baku, Tbilisi aim to increase transportation volume via BTK
By Kamila Aliyeva
A high-level delegation of Azerbaijan headed by Azerbaijan's Economy Minister, Chairman of the coordination council for transit and cargo transportation Shahin Mustafayev visited Georgia to discuss economic cooperation, as well as prospects for expanding relations in the transport and transit sphere.
The main goal is to increase the volume of cargo transportation via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Mustafayev said during Azerbaijani delegation's visit to Georgia on March 6.
“The main goal is to increase the volume of goods transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and to explore ways to make more efficient use of existing opportunities. A great interest in passenger transportation via the BTK, which will create broad opportunities for tourism development, should also be taken into account. Thanks to joint efforts we will reach our goal,” he said.
On the first day of the visit, at a meeting with the first vice-premier of Georgia, Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Dmitry Kumshishvili and Interior Minister Georgy Gakharya, the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project for the economic development of the participating countries, cooperation between countries in the field of economy, investment, transport and transit were noted.
Mustafayev said that the relations between the countries are developing in all spheres and the two countries take part in joint projects of international importance. It was noted that Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and other projects contributed to the welfare of the two peoples.
The sides also noted that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, as well as other projects, will play an important role not only for development of the South Caucasus, but also for the development of Europe, the unification of Europe and Asia.
Kumsishvili, in turn, spoke about the economic, political and cultural relations between the two countries, and said that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and other regional projects play an important role in developing cooperation.
Recalling his meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Kumsishvili highly appreciated the special attention the head of state paid to the BTK and other regional projects.
Mustafayev noted the expansion of trade relations between the two countries.
The Azerbaijani delegation included high-ranking officials of the Ministries of Economy and Finance, the State Oil Fund, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, Baku International Trade Port CJSC and Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company CJSC.
New infrastructure will be built along the Akhalkalaki-Kartsakhi section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway following a regular meeting of the BTK Coordination Council in Tbilisi, according to the Azerbaijan Railways.
The official opening ceremony of the BTK railway was held in Baku on October 30. The BTK railway, which is of great importance for Azerbaijan, was constructed on the basis a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement.
The main purpose of the project is to improve economic relations between the three countries and gain foreign direct investment by connecting Europe and Asia.
The railway’s peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At an initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Georgia in 2017 increased by 17 percent, and exports to Georgia jumped up by 13 percent.
To date, Azerbaijan has invested $3 billion in the economy of Georgia. More than 300 Georgian companies are registered in Azerbaijan, and about 1,300 Azerbaijani companies are registered in Georgia. Azerbaijan's SOCAR is successfully operating in Georgia.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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