By Trend

Today, bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia have great potential for strengthening and developing in new directions. Current geopolitical developments have created a number of obstacles for a large number of countries in both the East and the West. In this sense, Azerbaijan and Georgia are gaining new significance in the global arena.

President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Georgia certainly plays an important role not only in the development of the bilateral partnership between the two countries but is also significant in terms of new political and economic conditions created not only in the South Caucasus but also beyond it.

The visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Georgia is very timely in the current geopolitical realities, Giga Bedineishvili, a Georgian economist and professor at the Free University of Tbilisi, told Trend.

"Today, for example, energy and transport cooperation are high on the agenda for both our countries. Taking into account the strategic friendly partnership between Azerbaijan and Georgia, there are also opportunities for further growth in these and many other areas," he said.

According to the expert, the EU and many other countries outside the bloc are definitely interested in transport routes through the South Caucasus, as the demand for alternative routes grows, and if Azerbaijan and Georgia can work together, To improve their transport connectivity, it will benefit not only them but also many other players in the wider region.

Bedineishvili stressed that the improvement of transport communication includes such important issues as the development of e-commerce and the creation of a joint database which, if properly developed, will positively affect overall trade relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia, and their further export to other countries.

Meanwhile, Pr. Vakhtang Maisaya, a Georgian expert, Doctor of Political and Military Sciences, also stressed the importance of President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Georgia from the point of view of strengthening bilateral relations.

"This visit proves once again the strategic friendship between the two countries. Our countries have joint economic interests, especially in the energy sector. Naturally, Azerbaijan and Georgia can extend a helping hand to the EU, which is currently entering a very difficult period of the energy crisis," he said.

According to the expert, Azerbaijan, as the main supplier of energy resources through the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) pipelines, and Georgia, as a regional transport hub, can successfully develop their cooperation in this sense for the benefit of other countries.

"This will further strengthen the trilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU-Georgia, as well as strengthen the position of GUAM-a, a structure that was established to enhance the common interests of our countries. This will contribute to regional stability within the South Caucasus. In this sense, President Aliyev arrived in Georgia at the right time and at the right time," Maisaya added.

Thus, the role of Azerbaijan, Georgia and the South Caucasus as a whole in the global arena is increasing. Due to the clearly defined priorities of President Ilham Aliyev’s foreign policy, Azerbaijan has become a key partner for a number of European and regional countries. By strengthening relations with its immediate neighbors, Azerbaijan puts the importance of the entire region to a new level.