Georgia hopes relations with Turkey will remain "exemplary" in the region, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze told Anadolu Agency.
"In 2017, we are marking the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey. Throughout these 25 years we successfully managed to build a very special partnership, based on deep historic roots and mutual support," Janelidze said in an exclusive interview with the agency.
Janelidze addressed the 9th annual Ambassadors’ Conference, which was held between Jan. 8-14 in the capital Ankara with the participation of Turkey’s ambassadors serving at home and abroad.
"We continue to work on further progress with Turkey in political, security, economic, cultural and other fields. We express hope that relations between Georgia and the Republic of Turkey will remain exemplary in the region," said Janelidze.
Janelidze said Georgia and Turkey are strategic partners and Tbilisi "highly" values Ankara's firm support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Our countries have a multidimensional strategic partnership covering political, trade and economic, transport, cultural and humanitarian areas. Customs, transport, and energy remain crucially important dimensions in bilateral ties," he added.
The top diplomat said Turkey is one of Georgia’s largest trade partners and main investors, adding: "We expect increases in trade between our countries [amid] significant investments in Georgia’s energy, transport, and tourism sectors."
"With Turkey and Azerbaijan, we have already successfully implemented important regional and international projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Pipelines. We believe that our consolidated efforts will continue for the realization of other important regional energy and transport projects," he said.
Janelidze said the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which will establish a direct route between Georgia and Turkey, then to Europe via the Marmara tunnel, and to the east via Turkey and Georgia and to other regional countries, represents a "huge" interest for Georgia.
"The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will reduce shipping times to 15 days and shorten the distance from Europe to Asia by 6,800-7,500 kilometers [4,225-4,660 miles]. This is why we are certain that the railway will effectively open a new railway corridor from the Caspian Sea to Europe via Turkey," he said.
Janelidze said the railway became an important link of the modern “Silk Road” by establishing a direct route connecting Europe with Asian countries.