27 June 2024 14:55

On 27 June 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Ilia Darchiashvili, within the framework of his official visit to Georgia.

The tête-à-tête meeting between the ministers was followed by an expanded meeting with the participation of delegations from both sides.

During the expanded meeting, various aspects of the existing strategic partnership relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia, including political, security, defense, economic-trade, energy, transport and communications, cultural-humanitarian fields, as well as current issues on the agenda and the regional situation were discussed.

It was emphasized that the high-level political dialogue between our countries, intensive mutual visits, the activities of diplomatic missions and consulates, as well as the political consultations mechanism contribute to further strengthening strategic partnership relations. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov expressed confidence that his current official visit would also give an additional impetus to bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

The close cooperation between the two countries in the fields of economy, investments, trade, energy, and communications was commended, and it was emphasized that major regional projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, the Southern Gas Corridor, and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars have been successfully implemented as a result of this cooperation. The importance of fully utilizing the potential of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was noted. The importance of enhancing the activities of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Georgia was emphasized in terms of strengthening economic integration efforts and accelerating the implementation of joint projects.

The importance of coordinating national efforts in combating regional and global security threats, particularly cooperation in the protection of critical energy infrastructure projects, was highlighted.

The importance of continuing mutual support and solidarity within various multilateral platforms, including the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, GUAM, and others was underscored.

Confidence was expressed that strengthening cooperation in key areas of the humanitarian partnership agenda, particularly in education, culture, and sports, would contribute to the high-level dialogue between our countries.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov provided detailed information on Azerbaijan’s presidency of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), noting that COP29 also creates additional opportunities to strengthen cooperation with Georgia in this field. In addition, efforts towards the implementation of the “Black Sea Green Cable” project were discussed in detail.

Speaking about regional peace and reconstruction efforts in the post-conflict period, as well as the main threats and obstacles to the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov emphasized that, as the initiator of the peace agenda, Azerbaijan is determined to advance efforts to ensure security and stability in the region. Despite significant progress achieved on the draft peace agreement, it was noted that the continued claims against Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity in the Constitution of Armenia and other legislative acts remain a major obstacle within the peace process.

During the meeting, an exchange of views was also held on other bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

Following the meeting, the ministers delivered statements at a press conference on the outcomes of the talks.