BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 24. The volume of cargo transportation between Georgia and Azerbaijan has increased by 75 percent this year, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said making a press statement with Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili after viewing the “Heritage of Karabakh Khanate” exhibition at Château Mukhrani in Mtskheta Municipality, Trend reports.
"I want to inform you that we intend to increase the carrying capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway to 5 million tons. For this purpose, Azerbaijan will make additional investment in this project this year and next year. All investment is ready and we have started the process because there is a great need for transport routes across the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan, Georgia and neighboring countries. The new transport routes meet the interests of all the countries located along the route, both in relation to the geopolitical situation and as a whole. Therefore, increasing the throughput capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway to 5 million tons and increasing the volume of cargo transferred from Central Asia and Asia as a whole to the West and back using Georgian ports creates a new reality. We have to be ready for that. I must state that we want to increase the capacity of Baku International Sea Trade Port from 15 million to 25 million tons. All the instructions have already been given and the funds will be allocated. Therefore, there should be close coordination between Georgia and Azerbaijan in the field of transport. Our joint projects must be completed at the same time. To be a transit country, you must have good relations with your neighbors. Because without good relations with neighbors, no country can become a reliable transit state. Our friendly, brotherly and partnership relations with Georgia create these opportunities. Currently, as there is a great demand for energy resources in the whole world and in Europe, Georgia and Azerbaijan will act in a coordinated manner in this matter and ensure their national interests by focusing on one point. Notice how important the relations between two brotherly countries are for the region, for Europe and for the world," the head of state said.