Georgia and Azerbaijan have signed several strategic agreements in the energy and transport sectors, including intergovernmental deals on natural gas supply to Georgia for 20 years, as well as electricity supply and transit.
Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development says Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili signed the agreements during her visit to Baku.
The ministry said the comprehensive package of energy agreements followed several months of successful negotiations between the two governments and is of major importance for strengthening Georgia’s energy security and developing the regional energy corridor.
The ministry noted that the agreement on the purchase and sale of additional gas from Azerbaijan, signed in 2003, had expired, making the new 20-year contract particularly important for strategic cooperation within the South Caucasus Pipeline project.
During the visit, the parties also signed a new agreement related to the Georgian section of the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline. The Ministry says this will ensure the resumption of oil transit from Central Asia to Europe through Georgia and significantly increase budget revenues.
A protocol of the bilateral coordination council was also signed, under which the new Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway section will enter full operation. The document was signed by Georgian Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Rashad Nabiyev.
The ministry also said that, following a six-year pause, daily passenger rail service between Tbilisi and Baku will resume on May 26.
Kvrivishvili was accompanied in Baku by Deputy Minister Tamar Ioseliani, as well as the heads of the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, Georgian State Electrosystem and ESCO.
