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By Aynur Karimova

The presidents of Georgia and Turkmenistan have expressed interest in the development of cooperation in the fields of transit, transportation, and trade, with the participation of Azerbaijan.

This was expressed in a joint statement adopted by Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on July 2 during the Turkmen president's state visit to Tbilisi.

"The sides confirmed their interest and support to the development of the agreement, initiated by Afghanistan on cooperation in the transit, transport and trade fields between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The priority direction of cooperation between the countries will be joint implementation of major regional and inter-regional transport and energy projects," the document says.

Speaking at a meeting with Margvelashvili, Berdymukhamedov mentioned the stable development of trade and economic relations between the two countries, and said that Turkmen-Georgian cooperation in the energy sector has considerably intensified in recent years.

"Regular consultations are being held both in bilateral and multilateral level with the participation of other interested countries. As is known, a quadripartite meeting on the development of cooperation in the energy sector was held in May 2015 in Ashgabat with the participation of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the European Union. During the meeting the sides set out their agreed position on offering Georgia to participate in plans on creation of a pipeline infrastructure for the delivery of energy resources from the Caspian region to the western direction,” the president said.

"This is an ambitious project that not only meets the interests of our countries, but also will give a powerful impetus to the energy security in Eurasia, where the diversification of energy transportation systems today are of great importance," Berdymukhamedov added.

The Turkmen president believes that another important strategic vector of cooperation between the two countries is the transportation sector.

"South Caucasus is a part of the Caspian-Black Sea transport and transit corridor, the use of which allows a broad interregional integration with the countries of Europe, the Near and Middle East," Berdymukhamedov said, who recalled that in September of last year, a quadripartite meeting on the creation of the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia transport corridor was held in Ashgabat.

"This project aims to create new opportunities of access to global markets for member countries and other countries of the region. Its implementation will contribute to the intensification of the continental trade and economic relations," the Turkmen president said. He added that Turkey has already expressed interest in joining this transport corridor.

On July 3, as part of Turkmen president's two-day state visit to Georgia the two countries signed a package of intergovernmental documents.

Turkmenistan and Georgia see the trade and economic area, the transportation and communication sectors, and the power industry among the priority areas of their partnership.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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