On the 9th of December 2014 the Georgian Foreign Minister, Ms Tamar Beruchashvili paid her first official visit to the Republic of Turkey. The Georgian Foreign Minister held meetings with the President of Turkey, Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Foreign Minister, Mr Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, reports GHN based on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the meetings the sides discussed issues relating to bilateral co-operation emphasizing that Georgia and Turkey enjoy good-neighbourly partner relations which will be brought up to an even higher level by the High-Level Strategic Partnership Council - a new format of partnership - due to be held annually, alternatively in Georgia and Turkey, and led by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.
The sides highlighted important economic and trade ties between the two countries paying special attention to co-operation in such spheres as energy, trade and transport. Discussions focused on the possibilities of further deepening economic co-operation, on the potentiality of enhancing investments and on new economic opportunities, which the signature of the Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, offers to Georgia.
During the meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister, special mention was made of Georgia-Turkey co-operation in the area of regional projects. In this light particular attention was paid to the format of trilateral (Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey) co-operation.
Discussions also focused on the ongoing processes in the region, including on the relations with Russia and on Moscow's recent steps with respect to Georgia's occupied territories. The Turkish Foreign Minister reaffirmed his support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Following the meeting with his Georgian counterpart, the Turkish Foreign Minister said at a joint press conference: "I wish to emphasize that Turkey stands ready to continue to support Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as its Euro-Atlantic aspirations and integration into NATO in the future. Turkey does not recognize the treaty signed between Russia and Abkhazia and joins its voice to the statements made by the European Union, the Council of Europe and the OSCE. Our position in this regard will remain unaltered".
The Foreign Ministers of the two countries signed a memorandum of co-operation between the Foreign Ministries of Georgia and the Republic of Turkey.
Within the frames of the visit, the Georgian Foreign Minister visited the Atatürk Museum paying respect to the memory of the first President of the Republic Turkey.