Media logo
Georgia

Georgian PM Kobakhidze visits Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, pledges to develop ‘middle corridor’

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze (right) and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow (left) in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Official photo.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze (right) and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow (left) in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Official photo.

The Trump/Musk cuts could shut us down — permanently

You can help us survive with a monthly membership or a single donation for as little as $5. In a world drowning in disinformation, your support means we can continue bringing you the real, fact-checked stories that matter.

Become a member

Over the past week, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has traveled to Central Asia, visiting with the heads of state of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

While Georgian officials and their counterparts in Central Asia have regularly emphasised the importance of strengthening ties between the respective countries and regions in recent years, Kobakhidze’s visit comes against the backdrop of Georgia’s deteriorating ties with the West.

In meetings with both Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, Kobakhidze pledged to develop the middle corridor, part of a wider project to improve east-west connectivity.

Nonetheless, in official readouts of both meetings, there were few specifics provided.

In regards to the meeting with Mirziyoyev, Kobakhidze said the two 'engaged in a meaningful and productive discussion on bilateral and multilateral relations between Georgia and Uzbekistan, underscoring the special nature of our ties, which are founded on friendship and mutual respect’.

Following his meeting with Berdimuhamedow, Kobakhidze said the two ‘discussed a broad spectrum of bilateral cooperation between Georgia and Turkmenistan, including the perspectives of our future cooperation on joint economic and energy projects. Deepening close ties with Turkmenistan in pursuit of developing a safe and secure middle corridor is high on our agenda’.

In separate spoken comments, Kobakhidze said, ‘we can offer Turkmenistan very specific assistance in terms of transit of energy resources. In addition, we are interested in buying energy resources from Turkmenistan’.

Meetings between Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili and other Georgian officials and their Uzbek and Turkmen counterparts also focused on economic and trade cooperation, according to official readouts.

In general, the descriptions of the meetings were not substantially different from previous visits over the past few years.

In barrage of legislation, Georgian Dream approves new foreign agent law in its first reading
The ruling party claims that the new law is a word-for-word translation of America’s Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Related Articles

Maka Botchorishvili and Robin Dunnigan. Official photos. 
Georgia–US Relations

Georgian Dream blames others for strained US–Georgia relations as US Ambassador resigns

Avatar

Georgia’s new foreign agent law means OC Media’s team could face prison for speaking truth to power. Join the fight for free media in the Caucasus for as little as €5 and enjoy exclusive benefits from our team as a thank you. Become a member In an interview with pro-government media outlet Imedi, Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili shared the government’s ‘deep’ concern regarding the current state of US–Georgia relations, adding that ‘this is not our fault’. The sta

Most Popular

Editor‘s Picks