Turkey Considers Georgia as a Key to Regional Cooperation: Erdogan

On June 1, the visit of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to the Republic of Turkey commenced. The Georgian delegation includes the ministers of foreign affairs, economy, agriculture, and the head of the government of Adjara. In Ankara, a face-to-face meeting took place between Garibashvili and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which was then followed by an extensive format discussion.

After the meetings, the parties issued a joint statement. 'Turkey is an important friendly country and strategic partner for Georgia. Turkey has been Georgia’s number one trading partner, and we have jointly implemented critical projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, Tbilisi-Erzurum,' said the Georgian Prime Minister.

President Erdogan referred to Georgia as 'the key to regional cooperation' during a press conference. He stated that Turkey has been Georgia's top trading partner for 14 years and that the parties aim to increase trade volume to $3 billion.

'We believe that we can carry out various works that will strengthen and elevate the significance and peace of our region. In this context, trilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan is very important. We, Turkey, support all kinds of trilateral cooperation, whether it is Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia or Georgia-Azerbaijan-Turkey. We also decided to hold a summit of the Supreme Strategic Council as soon as possible. Using the existing mechanisms, we continue to take firm steps,' said Turkish President Erdogan.

He expressed hope that Georgia’s issues related to Abkhazia and South Ossetia would be resolved peacefully. He noted that 'Turkey is decisively supporting Georgia’s integration into Euro-Atlantic organizations.' Erdogan emphasized support for Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty at all levels and platforms, asserting that 'Turkey is also decisively supporting Georgia’s integration into Euro-Atlantic organizations.'