BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 7
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Azerbaijan and Georgia are key transit countries on the way from the Middle East and Central Asia to Europe and vice versa, the Chairman of the National Congress of Azerbaijanis of Georgia, political scientist Ali Babayev told Trend.
He made this statement commenting on the discussion between the presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on the prospects for the development of transport and logistics infrastructure, entering new markets through the transport corridors of South Asia and the South Caucasus.
The sooner the Ashgabat agreement signed between Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, to which Kazakhstan, Pakistan and India have already joined, is implemented, the better it will be for Georgia and Azerbaijan, the expert noted.
According to him, the most optimal route for all parties to the agreement passes through the territory of Georgia.
The expert believes that Georgia should join the Ashgabat agreement, organize the full functioning of the transit corridor and become its key participant.
"Transit transport routes through Georgia already exist - this is, first of all, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. There is also an opportunity to transport goods to the Georgian Black Sea ports: Batumi, Poti, and in the future - Anaklia," Babayev said.
According to him, the infrastructure on the territory of Georgia can be used in order to fully realize the economic interests of all countries participating in the Ashgabat agreement.
In his opinion, Azerbaijan and Georgia are ideally suited to become key countries in multimodal transportation of goods from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Pakistan and India to Europe.
"In Georgian ports, it is most economically profitable to overload goods delivered by land, and then transport them to European and Mediterranean countries by sea. The transit route from the countries participating in the Ashgabat agreement through Georgia in the future will increase the importance of expanding the capacities of Georgian ports," he said.
According to him, this means new investments into Georgia's infrastructure, creation of jobs and development of the Georgian economy.
On August 6, the presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan discussed the prospects for the development of transport and logistics infrastructure, entering new markets through the transport corridors of South Asia and the South Caucasus.
This issue was considered during a meeting between President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Turkmenistan Gurbangulu Berdimuhamedov.
In addition, the parties discussed the issue of creating an international transport and transit corridor in accordance with the Ashgabat agreement.
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