Turkmen FM says Georgia place that stands out for its strategic infrastructure, hub of international importance

Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov on Wednesday said Georgia was a place that stands out for its strategic infrastructure and was also a hub of international importance.

In his remarks at the ongoing Silk Road Forum in Tbilisi, Meredov emphasised energy, industry, transport and trade as the four main components in the development of the world economy, highlighting Georgia’s special role in energy and transport matters.

“Today, this country [Georgia] is not only an important transport hub, the role of Georgia is much greater and more important. For Turkmenistan, Georgia is a place that is distinguished by its strategic infrastructure and is also a hub of international importance. It is a country of transcontinental trade and economic cooperation on the Black Sea”, Meredov said.

He further added that currently, the main task was to create a fundamentally new architecture so that relations between the Eastern and Western worlds could be established in a new way.

“Here, cooperation with the Caspian Sea countries will be the main and driving force for the development of the economy, trade, and logistics. To this end, Turkmenistan is ready to work with its partners to facilitate tariff and customs procedures. We hope that this forum will truly create a foundation for progress and the implementation of future plans and projects”, the Turkmen FM noted.

Meredov once again underlined the importance of developing a transport corridor along the East-West route in order to create new opportunities for the participating parties, for the countries in the South Caucasus region, so that they had access to world markets and also to intensify trade and establish active economic ties.

“An even more pressing issue is the creation of the Middle Trans-Caspian Corridor. Turkmenistan played a leading role in ensuring that this process was implemented in a more systematic manner. As a result of the negotiations held in Bucharest in March 2019, where Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania participated, a memorandum was signed, and we note that this document already requires practical and concrete action”, he concluded.