Georgia and Turkey to cooperate in economic, cultural and cyber-security issues

The Georgian Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, held a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Binali Yildirim, in Tbilisi, on 23 May. The meeting was followed by a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council session, attended by members of Cabinets of both countries.

The parties agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation in economic, cultural, justice and cyber-security issues.

Of note are the following four documents which were signed:

• Joint Communique on the cooperation between the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Turkey;
• Georgia-Turkey Declaration on Setting up a Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO);
• Program of cultural cooperation between the Government of Georgia and the Government of the Republic of Turkey;
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cyber-security cooperation between the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of Turkey;

The agreement provides for setting up the JETCO which will determine a new framework for future cooperation.

According to the Georgian Premier, the strategic partnership between Georgia and Turkey and a high-level political dialogue is of paramount significance, especially against the background of the existing global challenges and regional instability.

“Georgia and Turkey have successful experience and important prospects in huge transport and energy projects. In this regard, I cannot fail to mention the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway project, the first phase of which is due to be completed in summer 2017. Coupled with the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), this project greatly contributes to diversification of transport routes and underlines the economic importance of the project participant states, Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as the significance of our trilateral cooperation. This corridor is an important segment of the Silk Road revival project, which was reiterated at the recent summit in China,” Kvirikashvili stated.

According to the Turkish Prime Minister, his country attaches great importance to intensifying its cooperation with Georgia in the future. The Turkish Prime Minister thanked his Georgian counterpart for his warm welcome. Binali Yildirim recalled Giorgi Kvirikashvili’s visit to Ankara a few days after a failed military coup attempt in Turkey. As he pointed out, the Turkish government and people highly appreciated that solidarity. Giorgi Kvirikashvili, in turn, thanked his Turkish counterpart for supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Turkish Cabinet of Ministers’ delegation, led by Premier Binali Yildirim, arrived in Georgia on 22 May.

Turkey is one of Georgia’s major trading partners.