At the joint briefing with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov emphasized the crucial role Georgia and Kazakhstan could play in facilitating transport between Europe and Asia.

PM Smailov said that the meeting focused on the Trans-Caspian international transport route.

Both leaders agreed on the potential significance of the two countries in terms of transportation connectivity between Europe and Asia.

“Georgia is an important political and economic partner of Kazakhstan in the South Caucasus. Relations based on mutual friendship and trust are regularly developing between our countries. Today, the scope of bilateral cooperation is wide and close ties have been established within the framework of international organizations.

In July last year Mr. Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia paid an official visit to Kazakhstan.

In the course of today’s talks, we discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation, along with new and promising projects. As a result of this, important agreements have been reached. First of all, this concerned the issue of ensuring the growth rate of mutual trade, expanding the range of trade turnover.

Last year, mutual trade turnover increased 7 times and exceeded 600 million dollars. This is a very good indicator. To further intensify trade, we agreed to make extensive use of the opportunities of the intergovernmental commission.

Over the past 17 years, Georgian investors have invested about 400 million dollars in Kazakhstan. More than 100 million dollars of these investments were raised last year. In turn, Kazakh entrepreneurs have invested more than 530 million dollars in the Georgian economy.

During the negotiations, we came to a consensus that Kazakhstan and Georgia can play an important role in ensuring the transit between Europe and Asia. Particular attention in this process is paid to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

Last year, in this direction transshipment of goods increased by 2 times, transportation of containers increased by 30%. Today, positive dynamics are maintained. We are interested in increasing the volume of cargo transportation in this direction to 10 million tons in the medium term. To reach this goal, the parties of the project are successfully implementing a joint roadmap for the development of the corridor for 2022-2027 and the synchronous elimination of bottlenecks.

We are ready to expand cooperation with Georgia on the development of routes in the Caspian-Black Sea basin. In this context, it is very important to use the capabilities of the seaports of the two countries in the implementation of cargo transportation.

During the negotiations, we also discussed a number of issues in the field of agriculture, industry and tourism.

As you know, this year, from the first of June, direct flights between our capitals were opened. We called on Georgian airlines to start operating regular flights to Kazakhstan. We are confident that this will have a good impact on the business relations of our citizens and its development of tourism.

As a result of the negotiations, a number of important documents were signed. In general, we believe that deepening cooperation in these areas will give a new impetus to relations between the two countries and the agreements will further strengthen our cooperation.

The Government of Kazakhstan is ready for the joint implementation of these important projects,” he stated.