Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Georgia Azer Huseyn has delivered an official invitation to Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili to visit Baku on behalf of the Azerbaijani PM, Ivanishvili's press service reported on Thursday.

During Ivanishvili's meeting with the Azerbaijani ambassador at the Georgian State Office, the parties discussed bilateral relations and ways of enhancing cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

This will be the first visit by Ivanishvili after the October 1 parliamentary election, which was won by his opposition coalition Georgian Dream and was followed by the formation of a new cabinet. During the visit Ivanishvili will meet with Azerbaijani government officials.

According to the Georgian PM's press service, Ivanishvili`s visit to Baku will take place at the end of December. According to unofficial data, the visit is scheduled for December 26.

On November 22, Ivanishvili told a news conference that due to postponing his visit to the U.S., his next visit may be paid to Baku.

"This visit will be evidence of our desire to strengthen relations with Azerbaijan, and though today we have very good relations, we are ready to further improve them," he said.

Azerbaijan and Georgia broadly cooperate in regional energy development, transport, economic and other important projects.

The two countries have long-standing and successful cooperation in the energy sector. The main routes for the delivery of Azerbaijani oil and gas lie through Georgia, including the Baku-Supsa and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil piplelines and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline. Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR is closely involved in the energy market of Georgia.

Another important joint project is the construction of a new SOCAR plant in the free industrial zone in Kulevi, Georgia for carbamide production.

Also, the two countries are implementing the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project. The rail line aims to directly link the railway systems of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to transport large amounts of cargo and passengers.

Azerbaijan has long been the second biggest trade partner of Georgia. According to the Georgian statistics body, Azerbaijan accounts for 12.2% of Georgia's foreign trade.

The two countries have so far signed 90 bilateral agreements, with 50 of them associated with economic relations.