European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Vice President for Policy and Partnerships Mark Bowman and Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Matteo Patrone will tour the Caucasus from 16 to 19 January, first visiting Armenia, then Georgia, before concluding their trip in Azerbaijan.  

The purpose of the trip is to discuss upcoming projects in both the private but also public sectors. Discussions on financial resilience, policy reform and the preparation for the Bank’s upcoming new country strategies are also on the agenda. 

The visit follows EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso’s recent tour of the Caucasus in September. 

In all three countries, the delegation will meet the political leadership, diplomats, international development partners, leaders of the business community and the Bank’s existing partners. 

While in Tbilisi, Mark Bowman is also expected to sign a sovereign loan agreement with the Ministry of Finance of Georgia for the rehabilitation and upgrade of up to 12 metro stations in the capital. 

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Press release

Ali Asadov, Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, arrived in Georgia on an official visit. The administration of the Government of Georgia hosted an official welcome ceremony.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov will meet face to face, followed by a meeting of the Georgia-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Economic Commission under the leadership of the Prime Ministers of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Today, the first Trilateral Summit started in the Congress Centre of the Avaza national tourist zone with participation of President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In the morning, heads of Azerbaijan and Türkiye arrived in the Avaza Congress Centre.

There before the start of the Summit, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met with heads of two friendly countries.

Before the forum, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov also held bilateral meetings with his Azerbaijani and Turkish colleagues there.

After the ceremony of joint photographing, the tripartite talks started in the narrow format.

Among topics of discussion was expansion of trilateral cooperation in the trade and economic sphere as well as in fuel, power energy, transport and communications sectors.

On December 13, 2022, a meeting was held between the heads of the transport departments of Turkmenistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkiye.

Taking an active position in matters of international cooperation, neutral Turkmenistan puts forward specific initiatives to form an extensive transport infrastructure and, together with foreign partners, successfully implements major projects in this direction.

As part of the exchange of views on the further development of productive cooperation on the formation of a modern infrastructure for sea, road and rail transportation of passengers and goods, the meeting participants noted that our countries have a huge potential in the transport field, which they strive to realize together, with maximum impact in order to maintain a sustainable economic growth, improving the well-being of the three peoples and strengthening international trade ties.

Expressing support for the initiatives put forward by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov to create a transport and communication system and new transport corridors that are in demand by the time, the Azerbaijani and Turkish partners expressed their interest in continuing a productive dialogue built on an equal and long-term basis.

The topics of a thorough discussion were the adoption of joint measures for the development of rail transportation by the relevant organizations of the three countries and the development of a draft Agreement on the creation of a flexible system of competitive tariffs and conditions for the implementation of rail transport.

The issues of harmonization and the formation of favorable opportunities for road carriers, in particular, the development of mechanisms for issuing visa procedures, were also considered.

In order to develop container transportation by rail, road and sea, the interaction of the profile structures of the three countries to develop uniform rules for the implementation of the necessary procedures and optimization of tariff rates was discussed.

Summing up, the parties stated that a lot of preparatory work had been carried out in almost all key areas of cooperation. The importance of completing internal procedures for the implementation of the tasks outlined for the mutually beneficial cooperation of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkiye in the field of transport was noted.

On December 7, 2022, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov received the Chairman of the Milli Mejlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sahiba Gafarova, who arrived in Turkmenistan at the head of the parliamentary delegation of her country.

Expressing gratitude for the hospitality and the opportunity to discuss topical issues of bilateral cooperation in a personal conversation, the guest conveyed warm greetings from President Ilham Aliyev to the head of state, who addressed his colleague and the entire Turkmen people with sincere wishes of happiness, peace and prosperity.

Welcoming the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov addressed his best wishes to the top leadership and people of the friendly country, expressing confidence that the meetings and negotiations during the current visit will serve to further strengthen and develop inter-parliamentary ties between our fraternal states.

During the meeting, which was held in a constructive manner, the closeness and similarity of the positions of both states on issues of international politics and interregional relations, in particular, related to ensuring global peace and security, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, were noted with satisfaction.

Our countries closely cooperate not only on a bilateral basis, but also within the framework of authoritative organizations such as the UN, the Organization of Turkic States, the CIS, the OSCE, the Non-Aligned Movement, etc.

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov also stressed that today Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have a colossal resource, economic, transport and logistics potential, the practical implementation of which is in the interests of not only the peoples of both countries, but also the region as a whole.

Within the framework of multifaceted cooperation, great importance is attached to inter-parliamentary contacts, which are designed to complement interstate relations, strengthen their legislative base and enrich them with new content.

It is noteworthy that the current parliamentary delegation includes almost all members of the established friendship group of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

Stressing that he regards the current visit of the Chairman of the Milli Mejlis of a friendly country as an important step towards the further development of Turkmen-Azerbaijani inter-parliamentary relations, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov at the end of the meeting wished Sahiba Gafarova good health, happiness and success in responsible state activities, and fraternal peace, progress and prosperity to the people of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

On November 28-29, 2022, the Turkmen delegation led by the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan B.Atdaev paid a working visit to Baku.

On November 29, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan B.Atdaev was received by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

The Vice Premier of Turkmenistan thanked the leader of Azerbaijan for the warm welcome and conveyed the greetings and best wishes of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

The President of Azerbaijan, in turn, conveyed warm and kind wishes to the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

During the meeting, issues of further expansion of the Turkmen-Azerbaijani multifaceted cooperation were considered. In particular, the parties touched upon issues of cooperation in the field of transport and energy. At the same time, the Azerbaijani leader stressed the importance of promoting economic cooperation projects and cultural and humanitarian exchange programs.

The President of Azerbaijan, wishing fruitful work of the meeting of the Commission, expressed confidence that the upcoming meeting would serve as a further impetus for strengthening bilateral friendly ties.

In the afternoon, the sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Azerbaijani Commission for Economic Cooperation was held.

The meeting of the Commission was chaired from the Turkmen side by Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan B. Atdaev, from the Azerbaijani side - Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov.

In frames of the meeting, an exchange of views took place regarding the implementation of the agreements reached during the previous meeting of the Commission. Proposals were considered to deepen cooperation between the relevant ministries and state agencies of the two countries, as well as to develop partnerships between business circles.

An increase in trade turnover was noted and the importance of implementing new joint projects that would further expand trade cooperation, was emphasized. Among the discussed topics was an interaction in shipbuilding and ship repair, as well as other industries. In addition, the prospects for opening Trading House of Turkmenistan in Baku and a Trading House of Azerbaijan in Ashgabat, including the creation of the Turkmen-Azerbaijani Business Council were discussed.

The parties agreed to hold the next seventh meeting of the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Azerbaijani Commission for Economic Cooperation in 2023 in Ashgabat.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met with Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met with Zakir Hasanov, Defense Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Press Service of the Government Administration

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that in early December he intends to discuss with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan the project of the "gas hub" proposed by Russia, RIA Novosti reports.

Presidents of Russia and Turkey Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously instructed to work out in detail and quickly the issue of creating a gas hub in Turkey, through which Russia could move gas transit from Nord Stream to the Black Sea region and Turkey. Erdogan also believes that Europe can receive Russian gas through Turkey.

“At the beginning of the coming month, during a visit to Turkmenistan, I intend to discuss this issue (the issue of the gas hub project) with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. I hope for good results,” Erdogan said at a briefing in Istanbul before flying to Indonesia for the G20 summit.

Earlier, Erdogan confirmed plans to create an international gas hub in the republic.

Putin proposed organizing a gas hub in Turkey after the story of sabotage on the pipelines of the Nord Stream system. The project is currently under discussion.