Foreign Ministers of Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan Meet in Istanbul, Sign Joint Declaration
Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met in Istanbul on June 8 for the tenth trilateral meeting of the three countries’ foreign ministers.
They signed a joint statement, the Istanbul Declaration, and held a press conference after the event. Maka Botchorishvili also held bilateral meetings with her Turkish and Azerbaijani counterparts.
According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, the participants agreed to hold the next, eleventh trilateral ministerial meeting in Georgia, “in accordance with the principle of rotation.”
Trilateral Meeting
During the meeting between the three foreign ministers, they reviewed cooperation among their countries in both bilateral and multilateral formats, focusing on “cooperation in the fields of politics, trade, economy, energy, connectivity, agriculture, transportation, culture, and humanitarian affairs,” and highlighting “the importance of maintaining and further deepening the active dynamics of high-level political dialogue and official visits,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
According to the ministry, they also discussed progress in and implementation of “strategically important joint transit and energy projects,” reviewed the region’s “potential” and the role of the three countries in “enhancing connectivity,” and in this regard noted the importance of the “full-scale operation” of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway, as well as “the development” of the Middle Corridor.
They also discussed “ongoing regional developments” and “security challenges,” underscoring the importance of “the peaceful settlement of conflicts” and “the use of diplomatic channels.”
Following the meeting, a joint statement, the Istanbul Declaration, was signed.
Botchorishvili’s Address at Joint Press Conference
The ministers then held a joint press conference.
“We have gathered here today not only as representatives of three states, but as partners united by a shared vision of peace, prosperity and common development. Over the years, our cooperation has clearly demonstrated that partnership based on mutual respect and shared interests yields significant results both for our countries and for the wider region,” Botchorishvili said, according to the Georgian Foreign Ministry press release.
According to the ministry, she further noted that the success of the partnership is evidenced by “a number of significant infrastructure, energy, and transport projects that have played an important role in enhancing regional connectivity and promoting economic development.”
She also spoke about peace, saying that “sustainable peace and stability in the South Caucasus constitute an essential prerequisite both for the development of the region and for broader international security.”
She further said the shared objective of the three countries is to transform the region into a space of cooperation, economic development, connectivity, and prosperity.
She welcomed the “dynamics of relations” between Baku and Yerevan, as well as the “progress achieved in the process of normalization of relations” between Ankara and Yerevan. She said Georgia “stands ready to continue contributing to the promotion of peace, stability and constructive cooperation in the region.”
In her remarks, Botchorishvili also raised Russia’s occupation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia regions, thanking Turkey and Azerbaijan for their “steadfast support” for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Stressing the strategic importance of regional transit links, Botchorishvili said the three countries will continue to work to strengthen “secure, sustainable and efficient transit, trade and economic links,” describing the Middle Corridor as “one of the key routes for international trade and transit.”
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