The President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili

Mr. President,

We are always charged with positive energy which shows the relationship of two countries.

The Azerbaijan you began to govern was a country full of prospects that was in the process of forming. The Azerbaijan we see today is not only a rapidly developing country, but a very important leader of the region, a considerable player globally, a factor in world politics, a member of the UN Security Council with 155 votes, and it is not a country which someone can bully or call irrelevant names.

This is a powerful country which has huge prospects and this power is very important in terms of stability and development of our region, including Georgia.

It is the unshakable will of you and the Azeri people to build a truly independent state, with independent internal and foreign policies.

The relationship which is developing between us is the model of how relationships should form. We perceive this as normal, but if we look at other countries in the region we will see that it is not so common.

Our relationship is more of an exception than a rule and I hope such an exception will be exemplary for others.

The results of our meeting today are evident. This year alone, 320 million USD are invested by Azerbaijan in this project. This railway will be used for passenger as well as cargo trains and test trains will be launched this year already.

This is a window to Europe. This is a window of our region to Europe.

It is planned to transport 2 million passengers through the use of Kars-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki railway towards Europe within the next few years –the railway connecting Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey to Europe.

This makes Georgia a large part of European railway system, to which Georgia and Azerbaijan are connecting together.

This is a very important factor for our future development.

Our cooperation is expanding in the energy sphere. The existing gas pipeline will begin working at its full capacity.

We have also agreed that we will create a joint company of electricity, which will jointly administer the export of electricity to third countries, meaning that more Azeri money will be invested in the construction of Georgian hydro electric power plants. This way Azerbaijan will help us to employ tens of thousands of Georgia citizens, develop our electricity capacity, and use the potential which Georgia has in the energy sphere.

I would also like to stress that an agreement has been reached between Poti and Kulevi regarding the construction of a karbamidi factory. This project will also employ thousands of residents of Poti and the surrounding territory. The construction of this factory will begin this year.

This is a very specific project of cooperation with mutual benefits of our countries.

I would like to say that along with others, Azeri companies are working on developing our infrastructure and one of the best companies doing this is precisely from Azerbaijan.

Also the company “Socar” which is working in the energy field will help us accelerate gasification of Georgia this year.

Also the Socar centers that are being opened help in the process of developing the places where they are opened.

Aside from this, there is already a modern road from Baku to our border. In our turn, we are beginning to build a Tbilisi-Rustavi autobahn and we will extend this road to the border of Azerbaijan. Basically the capital of Georgia will connect to the border of Azerbaijan via the new autobahn. So the new Baku-Tbilisi road will be a good symbol of the friendship of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

We are not only talking about friendship, but we are also making specific steps. A clear example of this is today’s meeting, the results of which are expressed in specific numbers.

We have created an alternate model to what was happening in the past. Not only were the countries of this region not helping one another in solving problems, they were creating additional problems for each other in the past. Thanks to Ilham Aliyev, our countries are solving problems and providing an example to other countries of what bilateral relationships should be like. If every country cooperated like this with each other we would have the fastest developing region.

I once again thank you for your warm welcome and I am glad to have achieved very specific and beneficial results, which will have an impact on the lives of our citizens within the upcoming months and years.

The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev

This visit is very successful. The negotiation which was held between us is proof of the fact that the relationship of Georgia and Azerbaijan has elevated to a very high level.

We have had a cordial neighborly relationship with each other for centuries.

I am glad that our independent states are cooperating so successfully.

We are also glad that Georgia is developing so successfully with our patronage and so many reforms are being implemented.

Thanks to your leadership, the successful future of Georgia has become reality today.

I am sure that the development of Georgia will continue successfully and all of the started projects will end successfully within the term of your leadership.

We have made sure once again that we have no problems and our cooperation has a great importance for the region.

I am glad that Azeri companies are investing large sums in Georgia.

The energy projects of Baku Tbilisi-Erzrum and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars are also important.

Thanks to these projects, the situation in the region has changed tremendously.

We are working together to make sure that joint energy and economic projects are implemented.