TBILISI, April 24 – Georgia’s foreign minister said on Friday that the country’s role as a key transit provider between Europe and Asia cannot be ignored.
Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili made the remarks while summing up Georgia’s participation in the Delphi Economic Forum, an annual event in Greece that brings together European politicians, business figures and civil society representatives.
According to Botchorishvili, this year’s discussions focused heavily on alternative trade routes, economic security for Europe, and the strategic role of the Black Sea and South Caucasus.
She said that made the forum a natural venue to discuss the Middle Corridor, the trade route linking Europe and Asia through the South Caucasus and the Caspian region, and to present Georgia’s role in the development of the route. Botchorishvili said Georgia had used the event to explain how it sees the corridor’s future, what it is doing to contribute to its development, and why the route matters not only economically but also for European security.
“Georgia has an important contribution to the development of the Middle Corridor,” Botchorishvili said. “Accordingly, when there is talk about implementing any transit project in the region, it is impossible to bypass Georgia.” She added: “This is the real situation and there is nothing surprising in the fact that there is no discussion about the Middle Corridor without Georgia.”
The minister also said she had taken part in a panel on the role of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the development of the corridor, and had used the forum for meetings and exchanges with colleagues. She said one discussion with a European commissioner focused on enlargement and security, including security issues in Georgia’s wider region.
