ArmInfo. Georgian, Turkish and Azerbaijani foreign ministers have signed a new, 2020-2022 action plan for sectoral cooperation during the eighth meeting of the trilateral format held in Tbilisi earlier today.
The ceremony took place at the Wedding Palace or Palace of Rituals in the Georgian capital, after which the foreign ministers of the three countries made joint statements.
According to Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, at the 8th trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, the trilateral format of the action plan for 2020-2022 was discussed. Zalkaliani explained that during the meeting special attention was paid to the discussion of a joint regional, transport and energy projects.
<During the meeting, special attention was paid to the discussion of joint regional transport and energy projects. The importance of the implementation of the Trans-Caspian pipeline project and the role of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey in transporting energy from the Caspian region to Europe and in ensuring the energy security of Europe were recorded. The successfully implemented energy projects Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum were emphasized.
At the same time, the ministers reaffirmed their readiness to continue coordination for the full implementation of the Southern Energy Corridor. "We agreed that the completion of the second phase of the Trans Anatolian Pipeline was very important which was inaugurated on November 30 in Turkey. The implementation of the project supports the creation of a new energy reality for Europe," Zalkaliani stated.
For the first time, a trilateral meeting of the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey took place on June 8, 2012, when the Trabzon Declaration was signed, which implies cooperation between the countries in the fields of politics, economy, energy, transport and environmental protection. Since then, meetings have been held regularly twice a year. The meeting was to be held in Tbilisi on October 16, but at the request of the Turkish side was postponed. The previous trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in the format of Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey was held on October 29, 2018 in Istanbul.
At the same time, the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the three countries issued a statement following the meeting. The statement, in particular, expressed satisfaction with the growing bilateral and trilateral cooperation. The Foreign Ministers expressed strong support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders of all three countries. It was emphasized that regional conflicts strike at peace, security, stability and economic development, the status quo is unacceptable and short-lived, and also requires an early settlement by peaceful means. The parties once again emphasized the importance of a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali in Georgia, as well as in Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent regions of Azerbaijan, in accordance with the principles and norms of international law,, in particular, on the basis of the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized state borders, as well as relevant resolutions and resolutions of the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe.
The parties also noted the need for safe return to their lands of refugees and internally displaced persons. The Foreign Ministers reiterated the importance of trilateral cooperation in the defense sector, as emphasized in the Memorandum of Understanding of 2018, emphasized the need for cooperation, tripartite exercises in the field of defense industry, as well as high-level meetings. In this regard, the parties welcomed the trilateral meeting of defense ministers on June 12, 2019 in the city of Gabala.