Irakli Gharibashvili Holds Meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili met with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Smailov.
At the working meeting, the parties reviewed the existing friendly and partnership relations between Georgia and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Among the discussed issues were the main directions of cooperation in the fields of tourism, energy, transport, and trade.
Attention was drawn to the importance of the full-scale functioning of the Middle Corridor. The sides also discussed the positive dynamics of high-level visits during the recent period.
At the meeting, Gharibashvili focused on the development of the Middle Corridor.
"Mr. Prime Minister, during your visit to Tbilisi, we discussed a wide range of issues related to our bilateral relations, as well as our ambitious plans and potential projects that may be of interest to both countries, both Kazakhstan and Georgia. We pay great attention to the development of the Middle Corridor and have a good plan for its implementation. Last year we also signed the corresponding guide, which I think is very important for us to develop this corridor.
Recently, I was on a visit to China, where I had a good discussion with the Chinese government about our joint project, and there I mentioned our plan, the roadmap for the Middle Corridor. Therefore, I believe that our future cooperation will be as fruitful as it was before and as it is now. Once again, thank you very much for the meeting with me and my delegation," stated the Prime Minister.
At the working meeting, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan emphasized that Kazakhstan and Georgia are connected by close and long-friendly ties and multilateral cooperation.
"We support mutual readiness for the development of Kazakhstan-Georgia cooperation based on trust and respect. Georgia is an important and reliable partner of Kazakhstan in the South Caucasus.
During my visit to Georgia, we agreed to increase the annual figures of bilateral trade, and it is very good that, according to the results of six months, our bilateral trade has increased by 30%. In order to further increase our trade turnover, I suggest that we use the possibilities of our intergovernmental commission.
We attach great importance to cooperation in the field of transit and transport. It is good that our partnership in the development of the Trans-Caspian international transport route is rapidly strengthening. In six months of this year, the volume of cargo transportation through the Middle Corridor increased by 77% and reached 1.3 million tons. The agreements reached during our last meeting gave additional impetus to the development of the route.
Special importance was given to the issues of digitization, ensuring stable transportation rates, and creating a single logistics operator along the corridor. We are interested in increasing the transport connectivity of the region and constantly improving the transit conditions. In these plans, we take into account the transit and transport potential of Georgia. In general, the government of Kazakhstan is ready to continue multilateral work to ensure the dynamic development of the Kazakh-Georgian partnership in all areas," said Smailov.
