BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. The EU-Azerbaijan-Georgia cooperation format has great potential for the development, Vakhtang Charaia, Head of the Center for Analysis and Forecasting of Tbilisi State University, economist, told Trend.
"President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Georgia is an important event for relations between the two countries, as we are long-term strategic partners. Today, the Azerbaijan-Georgia tandem is responsible for the EU’s energy resources diversification. Therefore, our cooperation is also in the interests of Europe. The more stable and stronger our relationship, the more weight will be our tandem for other players," he said.
According to the expert, in these difficult times, Azerbaijan, as a major supplier of energy resources, and Georgia, as a transit corridor, can improve their cooperation in this sense, not only for their own benefit, but also for the well-being of other countries.
"The fact that Georgia receives its main natural gas flow from Azerbaijan is an additional interest in energy cooperation. And Azerbaijan, in turn, uses Georgia to transport its energy resources. Therefore, I have no doubt that the energy partnership between the two countries is a priority area," Charaia added.
Also, the expert stressed that Georgia has quite a large number of partners, and this is not only the EU and China, with which the country has free trade agreements.
“Azerbaijan, by producing goods in Georgia, will be able to profitably export its products to other markets. I think Azerbaijani companies will be very interested in this,” he added.
Meanwhile, as Tengiz Pkhaladze, a non-resident senior fellow at the European Center for International Political Economy (ECIPE), pointed out, Azerbaijan and Georgia will play a more significant role in the prosperity of Europe.
“The cooperation with such countries like Georgia and Azerbaijan is very important for the European well-being, and Europe realizes this. Being the members of the Eastern Partnership already, the cooperation could be improved in this direction,” he said.
According to the expert, Georgia is already using many opportunities within the free trade agreement with the EU. As well as Türkiye, for example, also thrives from this within the “diagonal cumulation” initiative, which allows to develop exports of products made in Georgia from Turkish raw materials to the EU market in a free trade regime. Azerbaijan could definitely join this model as well.
“Today the great partnership our countries have should be transformed into particular business initiatives. When it comes to infrastructure, we should also consider of Turkish partners, because Türkiye has always been playing a big role in all of those projects. This is a significant common ground which other countries, and vastly Europe, can build up on,” he said.
As Pkhaladze rightly pointed out, Azerbaijan and Georgia have created a strong strategic partnership over the years.
“And it is much easier to implement successful business projects, while the countries enjoy political friendship. At the same time, given the current geopolitical changes, both our countries become more and more valuable within the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route project, or so-called Middle Corridor. Today the demand is growing, and countries, which have not paid attention to Azerbaijan, or Georgia, before are very much interested in transport routes that go through them today. The capabilities of Georgia’s sea ports, or Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railways, for instance, all spark interest for the wider region,” he said.
In regard with the massive reconstruction work Azerbaijan is carrying out in the liberated lands, and significant infrastructure projects that emerge in the region, the expert noted that this is a core issue for boosting regional connectivity.
“For example, the launch of such international corridors as Zangilan and Fuzuli airports is very important for South Caucasus. These routes do not only increase the connectivity of Azerbaijan, but also highlight stability that the country provides today, and open up new opportunities for all interested parties. At the same time, the interest is growing rapidly,” he said.
Speaking about Zangazur Corridor project, Pkhaladze stressed that it will offer many new possibilities and beneficial projects, but, of course, it is necessary to achieve a peace deal with Armenia first.
“If Georgia and Azerbaijan demonstrate stability and common ground, which both of them already have, this will result in successful development. I believe that the countries of the wider region and, most importantly, business from these countries will pay more attention to the South Caucasus. Furthermore, Azerbaijan already demonstrates huge prospects the region can offer with the reconstruction projects it implements,” the expert added.
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