Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze will visit Azerbaijan at the end of October. Georgia's ambassador to our country Giorgi Zakaraşvili said that Irakli Kobakhidze will participate in the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the two countries.
In a statement to Modern.az, Azer Allahveranov, a member of the Azerbaijan-Georgia interparliamentary working group of the Milli Majlis, stated that Kobakhidze's visit to Azerbaijan is important in terms of discussing both the economic and political agenda of bilateral relations:
“Within the framework of the visit, in addition to economic cooperation, transit and transport routes, energy security and regional communications, the issue of delimitation and demarcation of the Azerbaijan-Georgia state border, which has been widely discussed in the Georgian media in recent days, may also be considered. But this is only a possibility for now. One point needs to be taken into account here: although the continuation of political dialogue and the legal clarification of the border are related to each other, they are not the same process. Political dialogue defines the general framework of this issue. However, concrete decisions regarding border agreement, delimitation and demarcation should be made as a result of joint discussions of the relevant structures of the two states. It is during bilateral meetings that issues to be agreed upon are identified and steps are taken towards their solution.”
The deputy noted that recent events show that the border issue is on the agenda of both countries:
“We can recall that on October 21, Irakli Kobakhidze stated that a permanent dialogue on the delimitation and demarcation of the Azerbaijan-Georgia border is being conducted, that there is a mutual agreement on the active continuation of the process, and that he hopes for serious progress. At the same time, the inclusion of delimitation and demarcation issues in Georgia's 2026-2027 state budget project indicates that this topic is on the government's agenda. In addition, on October 10, by order of President Ilham Aliyev, the composition of the state commission on the delimitation and demarcation of the Azerbaijan-Georgia border was updated. This is an important sign that the issue continues to be worked on at the institutional level. The renewal of the commission's composition shows that Azerbaijan also demonstrates concrete will in this direction.”
Azer Allahveranov added that, according to the statement of the Georgian ambassador, Kobakhidze's visit to Azerbaijan is also related to his participation in the meeting of the intergovernmental economic cooperation commission. According to him, current issues of bilateral relations will be discussed in that format:
“Within the framework of such a meeting, the border issue is one of the important topics that can be discussed in parallel with economic and political cooperation. However, it should be taken into account that economic and political cooperation issues will be at the top of the visit's main agenda.”
He added that within the framework of the visit, additional agreements can be reached on expanding economic and trade cooperation, especially in the direction of energy supply, electricity transit, railway transportation, logistics and trade facilitation:
“The intergovernmental documents signed in Baku on May 18 show that cooperation in the field of energy and transport connections has already yielded concrete results. As for how economic cooperation will affect the solution of the border problem, Azerbaijan-Georgia relations are not limited to bilateral trade. Both countries are complementary partners in terms of energy exports, East-West transport connections and the region's transit capabilities. The deepening of this cooperation and keeping current issues on the bilateral agenda can create a favorable political environment for their solution. Among these issues is the delimitation and demarcation of the state border. Maintaining stability along the border, efficient operation of checkpoints, development of logistics infrastructure and increasing economic activity in border regions serve the interests of both sides. From this point of view, continuing border negotiations in parallel with advancing the economic agenda is a more appropriate approach.”
The deputy emphasized that deepening economic ties and strengthening strategic partnership between the two countries can be one of the main results of the upcoming visit:
“Within the framework of the visit, important issues for strengthening strategic partnership and ensuring the sustainability of economic and political ties can be considered. However, to form a precise opinion about the specific priorities of the visit, it is necessary to wait for the official agenda to be announced. In general, this visit can be considered an important contact that can serve to further deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries.”
