Greetings to the President of the Republic of Turkey Ahmad Necdet Sezer, the President of Azerbaijan Ilkham Aliev, Prime-Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and public.

Dear public,

The present event and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceykhan oil pipeline is much more for us than only economical, political and even energy project.

It is a condition of laying the firm foundation of liberty, independence and future successes of our country, which have a historical importance.

It is an extremely important project.

Together with the project of construction of the natural gas pipe line, which from its part, grants a great importance to Georgia it means completion of one great epoch and passing to a completely another stage of the political situation in our region and relations between the countries.

This is the limit, outside of which there is no possibility of politics production by means of confrontation, dictates methods; the epoch of taking mutual interests into consideration, a completely different cooperation, politics and reality, on the post Soviet space, in Middle Asia and in the whole region of the Caucasus, including Turkey.

When they are speaking about this project, they use to say that my country - Georgia - is a corridor.

I would like to declare with all the rigidity, that Georgia is a corridor no way, as the concept of a corridor is unacceptable to me.

Corridor means construction of walls and it does not matter in what large space this corridor is, anyway, it means a limited space.

In reality, the present event means that we have established not corridors and terminals, but one large space, the space of cooperation between our countries, mutual understanding and friendship.

There is also completely different reality in Georgia: we cooperate rather close with ‘British Petroleum" and other companies, operating in Georgia.

In respect of economics, there is also completely another reality; for several years, till 2003 that is before the Rose Revolution the only factor of economical growth of Georgia was construction of the pipeline.

Now construction of the pipeline is completed and this year, taking into consideration the local economical factors, the index of economical growth of Georgia is much higher.

We have managed to establish a completely new reality: we have changed not only our energy strategic channel, but also the whole internal power distribution system of Georgia.

The investment situation, the one, which is not corruption in Georgia, about what I can declare with the whole responsibility, has given us that if a one year ago we asked from several companies to take all these intra distribution networks for one dollar only for the purpose of their administration, but nobody agreed to that, one year later, several weeks ago, the same networks, and even a part of them, we sold for several million dollars.

This brings effective administration and transparent uncorrupted situation.

Now we are passing to another epoch.

During the Soviet period of time we were told whom to love and in relation to whom we should have a bad relation.

For example, we were forbidden not only to have warm independence from Turkey, but it was inculcated here that Turkey was an enemy for Georgians.

In several years (we also spoke about it with our Turkish brothers) Turkish successful, open, friendly, brotherly independence completely ruined the Soviet ideology, which had been constructed for years.

Today Turkey is the most important partner for Georgia, and great friend and a brother country.

The stage of great cooperation has begun between Turkey and Georgia. Very rapidly Turkey becomes the first trade partner of Georgia, it rapidly becomes and, possible, very quickly will become the greatest investor of Georgia as well.

I remember the period well, when the Prime-Minister of Turkey Erdogan came to ruined destroyed Batumi two years ago.

We went to the checkpoint together, where queues of run down citizens waiting for Turkish and Georgian visas on the both sides were standing.

Then we together said that we would annul the visa procedure between Turkey and Georgia.

A little bit of time has passed and today between Georgia and Turkey, there, where there was a boarder of the Soviet Union and the NATO, there, where there was the most strict limitations and prohibitions, there is one of the most transparent and free boarder in the region.

It is really the most transparent and friendly boarder between two brother states.

This is the decision of politicians, who take care after their own peoples.

The Prime Minister of Turkey and we have decided that the Batumi airport will become the object of joint application.

This decision will be realized in November, then, when the Batumi airport will begin the functioning.

The same can be said about the Tbilisi new airport terminal, which is also being built by Turkish companies, what means, that Tbilisi and especially Batumi will daily connect the whole world by means of Istanbul (possibly, several flights will be realized a day).

Since November we shall have this novelty.

A lot of businessmen come to Georgia and Turkish companies are among them.

It means, that Georgian specialists, who master modern technologies, work together with Turkish engineers in building business.

The same happened at the pipeline and it takes place in the building sphere.

We have brought Turkish textile and sewing companies.

These companies came to Georgia one after another and when they saw, that they had succeeded, that there was good manpower in Georgia, they expanded their activity.

We also saw that people became employed, there were working places and we assigned to the local governments, that in the nearest future they would find similar new partner in Turkey and to establish additional thousand working places in the sphere of sewing production.

The second day I also was in Adjara and the administrator of the local government was with me, when he was called and said, that representatives of several textile firms from Turkey, who with the reason of establishment of a new company, asked for meeting with the Adjara government, were standing near the building of the government.

They emphasized that they had heard the statement of the President of Georgia on TV, had taken his offer into consideration and right the second day came to Batumi to begin their business.

This is efficiency and real cooperation.

We have got no corruption, we have reduces taxes, opened boarders, the governments of the both countries have made conditions for that entrance to the market would be easier and this year, for the first time, one million bottles of Georgian wine would enter Turkey.

For the first time in history, in Turkey Georgian agricultural products enter and it is made in the conditions, when, in this respect, we have got certain confrontations at other markets.

Cooperation of this type, as well as the development, which we see in Azerbaijan, makes up happy, as we do not have any state, closer than it is.

With this development and mutual assistance we shall be able to create another prospects.

We were in a very difficult situation, but the situation cardinally changes, despite of the fact, that there are such forces, which, possibly, prevent it.

The Karsi-Akhalkalaki railway is notable; it means establishment of hundreds and thousands working places in the Javakheti region, another transport infrastructure and new strategic importance in Georgia.

The oil pipeline, the gas pipeline, new airports, and new railways... even a representation on it seemed to be impossible just recently.

Recently our countries were characterized as hopeless and weak countries.

Today, in the whole world they enter the number of dynamically growing countries, which in respect of development and consolidation are an example to other countries.

What do we have from export? It is stability, safety, and hope for future. It concerns not only power and economical independence; it is generally independence.

It is a guarantee of future independence of our country, it is not a fantasy and a serial film about James Bond, which was shot at the project, but it is reality. Alternative is given to the possibility of choice. It is the main approach. If there is no alternative market, if there is no development, there is not real investment, there will be no future for our people.

We are waiting for new prospects, we have carried out a conference for Europe, Turkey and Greece; again and again it is reality.

We have also got skeptics, who doubt, as well as in the beginning of the project, but we shall achieve our intention and we shall win.

Today Mister Brown and my confreres from Azerbaijan and Turkey emphasized the fact, that it is not such a reality, which we do not achieve; there is no wish, which we cannot come true.

What we have seen today justifies the expression "Never say never".

Thank for your attention!

Communications Office
of the President of Georgia