Georgia, Azerbaijan extend gas supply agreement for 20 years

Georgia and Azerbaijan have extended a 2003 agreement on the purchase and sale of natural gas for another 20 years, a move the Georgian government says will strengthen guarantees for the country’s social gas supply security.

According to information released by the Georgian government, the two countries also signed a broader package of agreements in the energy and transport sectors. The package includes a 20-year intergovernmental agreement regulating the main terms of electricity supply and transit between Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The documents were signed on behalf of Georgia by economy and sustainable development minister Mariam Kvrivishvili. Azerbaijan was represented by economy minister Mikayil Jabbarov and energy minister Parviz Shahbazov.

The sides also signed a protocol of the bilateral coordination council, under which the new section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will become fully operational. The document was signed by Mariam Kvrivishvili and Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transport Rashad Nabiyev.

Under the agreement reached between the parties, daily passenger rail service between Tbilisi and Baku will resume on May 26 after a six-year pause.

The signing ceremony was attended by Georgian prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.