Prospects of cooperation with Turkey, Georgia discussed

By Azernews

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

A joint trilateral meeting of the committees on foreign relations of the parliaments of Azerbaijan-Turkey-Georgia was held in the Azerbaijani Parliament on July 15.

Trilateral formats make an important contribution to the development of regional cooperation between Baku, Ankara and Tbilisi.

The main topics of discussion were inter-parliamentary relations, the current situation and prospects of cooperation in the region, including energy, transport, trade and regional security, as well as the conflicts in South Caucasus.

Samad Seyidov, head of the Azerbaijani parliamentary committee on international relations and interparliamentary ties, who chaired the meeting, noted that such events are important in terms of further rapprochement between three states.

“After all, this is the only way we can solve the growing problems in the world. Our countries are already participating in international organizations as a single team. From this point of view, the cooperation protocol signed in Ankara is a roadmap for us,” Seyidov stated.

He noted that there are friendship groups with more than 70 parliaments of the world in the Parliament. The largest among them is the friendship group with the parliaments of Turkey and Georgia, he added.

Sophie Katsarava, Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Parliament of Georgia, noted that this format creates an excellent ground for the development of three countries.

She also stressed that countries play the role of a bridge between Europe and Asia. From this point of view, she added, it is important to increase the number of envisaged areas in the Protocol on cooperation signed in Ankara.

Katsarava informed that Georgia intends to continue its strategic partnership with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

“For this, it is necessary to use the possibilities of parliamentary diplomacy,” she emphasized.

Volkan Bozkir, Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, noted that the relations of these three countries are a message to other countries for stability in the region and the world.

“Unfortunately, conflicts in the South Caucasus hinder the development of the region. Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Georgia, and believes in resolving these conflicts in accordance with the principles of international law,” he concluded.

Sevinj Fataliyeva, Zviad Dzidziguri, Ahmet Yilmaz, Sahiba Gafarova, Javanshir Feyziev, Yunus Emre, Tahir Mirkishili and other MPs of the three countries noted the importance of such joint meetings.

On June 8, 2012, the three countries signed Trabzon Declaration, implying cooperation between countries in the fields of politics, economics, energy, transport and environmental protection.