Azernews.Az

The existing level of cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan could be a model for other countries, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizada said on Tuesday in Tbilisi.

Rasizada was addressing a regular meeting of the Azerbaijani-Georgian intergovernmental commission, which met in Tbilisi on Tuesday.

He underlined the high level of bilateral cooperation and welcomed the increase in economic activity between the two countries.

"We should keep pace with the time and implement projects significant for the region," Rasizada said.

Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri, in turn, noted that the two countries are cooperating not only on the level of their heads of state, but also their people.

"Our nations are friends and this is important," he said. "This is also indicated well by a 60 percent increase in commodities turnover in recent years, as well as by annual growth in the number of tourists visiting Georgia."

Gilauri also stressed the importance of large-scale regional projects which are implemented by Azerbaijan and Georgia every year.

Rasizada has also met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Azerbaijan and Georgia have established close economic cooperation. The main export routes for Azerbaijani oil and gas - the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline - run via Georgia.

The two countries are also implementing a joint project to build the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. Azerbaijan has allocated a $775 million loan to the neighboring country under the railway project.

Azerbaijani state energy firm Socar is actively involved in the Georgian energy market.

Azerbaijan is also the main trading partner for Georgia, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said earlier.