President: Georgia, Azerbaijan always stand by each other as two independent states

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze have given a joint press conference.

“Georgia and Azerbaijan always stand by each other as two independent states,” President Ilham Aliyev said as he made a press statement, Caliber.Az reports.

“Our friendship and brotherhood are rooted in deep historical ties. For centuries, our people have lived in conditions of friendship and good neighbourliness. On this strong foundation, relations between the two countries have been established.

Today, through our joint efforts, both countries not only drive economic development domestically, but have also emerged as pivotal nations within the region, and significantly, for Eurasia as a whole.

The joint infrastructure projects we have implemented hold great importance for many countries. In the future, further steps will be taken in this direction as well,” President Aliyev underlined.

“Our trade turnover is also on the rise, nearing 900 million dollars, with an increase of about 15 per cent last year.

Thanks to the well-thought-out reform policy of the Georgian government, a favourable investment climate has been created in Georgia. Azerbaijani investors have invested 3.4 billion dollars in the Georgian economy. Of course, the main reason for this is the presence of a good investment climate," the Azerbaijani president added.

“The establishment and forthcoming development of transportation infrastructure will provide invaluable opportunities for numerous countries. Specifically, I believe that the activation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in an expanded capacity within the next month or two marks a significant achievement,” President Ilham Aliyev said.

Highlighting that the railway's capacity will soon increase from one to five million tons, the head of state emphasized that its activation will attract the interest of many countries simultaneously.

“Azerbaijani gas is being exported to several countries via Georgia. In total, the number of countries receiving Azerbaijani gas has reached 8, and this is not the end. The number of these countries will increase in the near future. The demand for Azerbaijan's energy resources is increasing year by year and continues to grow," the head of state emphasized.

“We have always made statements supporting each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of borders, and supported each other during voting in relevant international organizations. Subsequently, this support will continue.

No sovereign territory can be subjected to force to change it. The international law norms must be the basis for each country and there can be no discrimination.

As a country that has suffered from occupation for many years and has restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty, Azerbaijan is well aware that the international law norms are restored by force in some cases. This way is fully legal. The UN Charter granted each country the right to self-defence, and Azerbaijan exercised this right to restore its territorial integrity," President Ilham Aliyev underlined.