Ilham Aliyev received Georgian Prime Minister

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili visiting our country.

Welcoming the Georgian Prime Minister, President Ilham Aliyev said:

-Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to Azerbaijan. I am very glad to see you. I am sure the visit will be very successful, and we will strengthen our brotherly relations. Relations between our peoples are based on the long history, centuries of history of good neighborliness and friendship. This is a very good basis for developing our current relationship, which demonstrates a significant dynamic. It covers many areas. I am very glad that you are visiting us. I wish you robust health. I know that you recently have had contracted coronavirus. I am delighted that you have fully recovered. That was the reason for the slight delay in your visit to Azerbaijan. We have an outstanding history of implementing joint projects, like energy projects, transportation projects, and these projects have changed the map of the region - political, economic, transportation and energy map. Without a strong partnership between our countries, the implementation of these projects wouldn’t have been possible. The last day of the previous year was the final day in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project, which has tremendous importance for general development, for stability, predictability, cooperation not only in the region of Caucasus but in a broader Eurasian region. Without our collaboration again, that wouldn’t have been possible. So, I am very grateful to the Georgian government for its constant support in implementing this critical project. All other initiatives which we launched together have also become a success story. I am sure that this will remain the case in the future.

I just checked some data and realized that Azerbaijan continues to be one of the largest investors in Georgia’s economy. That’s also a good sign of the reforms that your government is implementing to create a very positive and friendly investment climate. I know that many more Azerbaijani companies are willing to work in your country. I am sure that will happen. Today we will, of course, review what has been achieved and plan our future steps. I wish you all the best, and once again, welcome.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili: Thank you, Mr. President, for receiving me. It’s a great pleasure and honor to see you again in Baku. As you mentioned, because of my coronavirus we had to postpone our visit. But I am glad that we are here today in Baku. You mentioned that we have an excellent relationship, and our relationship counts for centuries. And I want to repeat the words of your father, who once said in Tbilisi that this is our destiny and we are lucky to be neighbors. Georgian and Azerbaijani people are neighbors. So, this is our destiny, and we are so interlinked and interdependent. As you mentioned, we have executed some of the most important historic projects together. Therefore, we are absolutely determined and motivated to continue to implement even more projects together that will strengthen our relationship and brotherhood. So, once again, I want to thank you for receiving my delegation here in Baku, and I would like to take this opportunity and invite you to visit us in Tbilisi at the time of your convenience. Thank you very much.

X X X

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili then had a working dinner.