Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Georgia offers NATO to use the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway for transportation of goods from Afghanistan, Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze, who participates at a ministerial of the NATO and ISAF partner nations in Brussels, told journalists on Wednesday.

"We always say this to NATO partners," Panjikidze said. "This initiative was first announced by the Georgian Prime Minister at a meeting with the Secretary General of NATO. There is huge interest in this railway and the Turkish Foreign Minister mentioned this in his speech. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars is a joint project of the three countries which may be of interest to NATO. It is the quickest way for the withdrawal and export of goods from Afghanistan. Therefore, Georgia's proposal was welcomed at today's meeting. I believe this proposal will be acceptable for NATO."

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being built in accordance with an inter-governmental agreement reached by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, the three host countries. The railway will increase the flow of containers and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe. Initially, its throughput capacity will be 6.5 million tons of consignments and 1 million passengers. The capacity will peak at 17 million tons of cargo per year.

Azerbaijan has allocated a loan worth $775 million for the construction of the Georgian section of the railway. The project is financed from the State Oil Fund in accord with the 2007 presidential decree on taking measures under the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project.

Furthermore, according to Panjikidze, at the ministerial meeting she also spoke about Georgia's participation in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. Panjikidze noted that there are presently 1,700 Georgian servicemen in Afghanistan, and the country continues its mission there.

On the sidelines of the ministerial Panjikidze also held several bilateral meetings. The Georgian minister met with Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai. The sides discussed the relations between Georgia and NATO and the country's ongoing involvement in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.

On the same day, Panjikidze also met with her German counterpart Guido Westerwelle, Canadian FM John Baird and UAE's FM Anwar Gargash.

Accession to NATO is one of the top foreign policy priorities of Georgia. Soon after the declaration of independence, Georgia joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Georgia's bilateral relations with NATO were established in 1994 when the country joined the Partnership for Peace program (PfP). At the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in 2006 it was decided to launch Intensified Dialogue on Membership Issues with the South Caucasus republic.

Georgia as a significant contributor to Euro-Atlantic security is closely involved in NATO-led operations and its contribution to the NATO-led ISAF operation in Afghanistan is of significant importance. Nowadays, Georgia is the second largest troop contributor to Afghanistan among the non-NATO states.