Azerbaijan, Georgia to expand influence in Europe

By Trend

The South Caucasus is currently riveting greater international attention than ever before, Trend reports.

It has long been known that the region has a huge energy potential, as well as a well-developed transport infrastructure, which allows to transfer commodities from one part of the continent to another in the shortest amount of time. The more countries reconsider traditional ways of doing business, the more significance the region takes on.

Given all the supply and transportation routes established so far through the region, the regional countries's cooperation in the above-mentioned areas is growing in importance. Thus, two major players of the region – Azerbaijan and Georgia – are betting on the development of transport collaboration to further reinforce the region's role in international relations.

On October 24, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev arrived in Georgia for a working visit. As the head of state said making press statements after viewing the "Heritage of Karabakh Khanate" exhibition at Château Mukhrani in Mtskheta Municipality, having good relations with neighboring states is of particular necessity for a transit country.

"To be a transit country, you must have good relations with your neighbors. Because without good relations with neighbors, no country can become a reliable transit state. Our friendly, brotherly and partnership relations with Georgia create these opportunities. Currently, as there is a great demand for energy resources in the whole world and in Europe, Georgia and Azerbaijan will act in a coordinated manner in this matter and ensure their national interests by focusing on one point. Notice how important the relations between two brotherly countries are for the region, for Europe and for the world," the head of state said.

Representative of the Georgian Association of Young Financiers and Businessmen, editor-in-chief of the "Banks and Finance" newspaper Andria Gvidiani told Trend that the high-level visit at such a politically difficult time is of utmost significance and underscores the relevance of Georgia-Azerbaijan strategic partnership.

"To begin with, President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Georgia against the backdrop of complex geopolitical changes holds the greatest role. This is a fact that the strong friendship between Georgia and Azerbaijan goes back a long way. The countries have rich experience of interaction in energy, transport, tourism, and many other areas," Gvidiani said.

As he added, advanced economic and political ties between the two countries bring great benefits to both sides.

"Amidst the radical change of the geopolitics in the South Caucasus, the region's transit potential development has taken on a new meaning in the struggle for energy security of entire Europe. Thus, Azerbaijan has big plans for its own energy resources and is expected to have all new gas and electric power projects pass through Georgia," Gvidiani noted.

He also expressed confidence that the friendship between Georgia and Azerbaijan will be further strengthened, and future cooperation will be based on mutual respect, taking into account the interests of the two countries and the region.

Moreover, President of the Caucasus International Center for the Study of Geohistory and Geopolitics Guram Markhulia stressed that Azerbaijan and Georgia have a lot in common, and the visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Georgia reaffirms friendly and fraternal relations between the two countries.

"This is more important than ever amid the situation in Ukraine, as Europe is currently interested in regional stability, and the economic projects implemented in our countries are crucial for European states," he said.

In addition, Markhulia emphasized the recent visit of President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen to Baku and the memorandum on boosting the supply of Azerbaijan's gas to Europe.

"These are new projects, which are of primary importance for Europe and the entire region," he stated.

Therefore, the role of the South Caucasus is growing and will continue to grow due to the clearly defined priorities of President Ilham Aliyev's foreign policy. Following numerous bilateral documents with the Central Asian countries, Azerbaijan is taking decisive steps to develop relations with its closest neighbors and find a common solution to those pressing global issues.