Caspian Energy (CE): Mr. President, could you please outline the priorities of Georgia for 2014? What are long-term development priorities?
Giorgi Margvelashvili, President of Georgia: First of all, I would like to express my admiration of what I have seen in Baku and those human relationships that formed here with President Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, Speaker of the Parliament Ogtay Asadov and deputies with whom I met. Human relationships have a very serious impact on the impressions that remain. The scale and pace of development of Baku are also impressive.
For us the Georgia-Azerbaijan relations have a special role. If speaking about Georgia, we are realistic and are developing our country towards Europe. As you know, our cooperation with Azerbaijan is also implemented within the Eastern Partnership Program. At the end of the last year we initialled the EU Association Agreement and this year, I hope in the near future, we will sign the agreement.
CE: Following the up-to-date information, it should happen in the second half of 2014?
Giorgi Margvelashvili: According to the up-to-date information, it is going to happen before August. It is a record term. When we went to the summit in Vilnius, we intended to go through thisprocess within one year and complete it by autumn 2014. However, the process was even quicker and now we hope to sign the agreement before August.
The development of the country focuses on the development of democratic institutions. We had elections in 2012 and 2013. In 2014 we will have elections of local self-government. Development of democratic institutions and democratic society is also one of the major factors driving the development of our country. Economic projects that we are developing in our country obtain a particular significance. Associate membership opens up the possibility of free trade with the European market with the half a billion population.
CE: At the same time you also plan to sign a free trade and investment partnership agreement...
Giorgi Margvelashvili: Yes, we intend to sign a free trade agreement and a visa facilitation agreement with the EU.
Accordingly, we plan deepening of very important projects (editorial note: Baku-Supsa, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, BakuTbilisi-Erzurum, Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline TANAP, Trans-Adriatic Pipeline) that we have been developing with Azerbaijan since the early 1990s. I believe that everything, launched in the 90s, namely in 1994 (editorial note: the Contract of the Century for exploration, development and production sharing of Azeri, Chirag and Deepwater Gunashli fields was signed under the leadership of Nationwide Leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev on September 20, 1994 between Azerbaijan and foreign oil companies), was very important for the entire region. We showed the possibility of cooperation for the benefit of not only our people, but for the entire region and globally Europe and Asia. Our cooperation continues and these projects are particularly important for us. Accordingly, we will develop them. We have proved ourselves as reliable partners in these projects throughout the years. This partnership is based on very close and friendly relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan. Accordingly, development of joint projects is important for our economy and national security, because such projects create opportunities and cause no problems. In this aspect, our country will develop following this path.
We also hope to integrate more closely into security structures and are actively involved in the negotiations with our partners in NATO. As you know, in September the UK is to host the NATO Summit and we hope that certain steps will be taken there for the benefit of our cooperation.
CE: You mentioned the global scale of all these projects. It appears that globalization is hugely a positive phenomenon for Georgia?
Giorgi Margvelashvili: I think any processes feature both positive and negative possibilities. The most important thing is to look at these issues from the standpoint of rational analysis.
Now global projects, which we develop together with Azerbaijan and where Turkey is actively involved in, bring stability, opportunities and economic growth not only to the region. These projects bring economic welfare for many millions of people living beyond the region as well. So, if we consider globalization from this perspective, then yes, we can say that in this aspect globalization helps and brings people together.
CE: How does Georgia plan to buildher relations with the large geopolitical centres? You have already mentioned the European Union. What about China, Russia?
Giorgi Margvelashvili: I think our approach to these issues is to create opportunities, not problems. Connection or rehabilitation of the Great Silk Way is that very format through which we are building our relations with Asia and also Europe. You know that our relations with the Russian Federation are problematic …
CE: But the ice seems to start gradually melting...
Giorgi Margvelashvili: Yes, we try to deescalate the situation and bring our relations to a rational dialogue.
CE: What does Russia have to do for restoring relations, at least to the level observed during the cooperation of the political tandem Aliyev-Shevarnadze?
Giorgi Margvelashvili: We are trying to bring our relationship to the rational dialogue. It is a task that we pursue. I would like to note that the problems faced with the Russian Federation satisfy neither side that is part of the problem itself. Certainly occupied lands are a serious problem for Georgia whose territorial integrity has been violated. It is a problem of tens and hundreds of thousands of people. The life of our citizens who live beyond the controlled territory or the barbed wire that has been set around us didn’t become better. No life can be wonderful behind the barbed wire. To our regret, there are no prospects for the development of the economy, society and youth there.
It is obvious that for the RF, this process that Russia went through and showed aggression toward a small and friendly state and neighbor, is not a pleasant visiting card in the modern world.
Thus, we try to bring our relationship to a rational dialogue, offer our citizens living behind the barbed wire to build a modern European Georgia, an organized Georgia which is economically developed and stable. We try to offer Russia a stable neighbor after our territorial integrity is recognized. I think a stable and economically developed neighbor is always more an advantage rather than a disadvantage for any country. Besides it is also a potential for development. It goes without saying that our position bears significance for the region because the Caucasus must be a place where only positive and opportunity impulses must come from but not impulses of war, ethnic problems, etc.
I would like to emphasize that we reckon on the united future. I am absolutely confident in perfect future because the confrontation between the nations sounds absurd, it does exist at certain stages but it must be stopped.
Regarding our future relations with Azerbaijan, I would like to emphasize that Ilham Heydarovich keeps following serious traditions laid by Heydar Aliyev. It is noteworthy that these initiatives, which often seemed unreal in 90s, today influence both Georgia and Azerbaijan as well as change lives of millions of people. I do really hope that our cooperation will be continued and deepened on basis of these significant traditions because new projects are already being developed after the launch of the first three ones. Developed are the Shah Deniz Stage-II and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway which links continents and nations in unprecedented manner. It is a splendid start-up for development.
CE: You have recently visited Turkey. Which new development vectors has Georgia gained?
Giorgi Margvelashvili: I have been to Turkey, and I am very pleased with the relationship and emotions that I witnessed in Turkey. President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have very concrete and realistic views about the potential of our region. Accordingly, they see Georgia’s big role. As they emphatically expressed, Georgia is the key of our region and it is Azerbaijan playing a significant role in development of all these energy projects. We offered the heads of the three states to meet in Tbilisi, discuss future development of the region, where Turkey again could note that finds the countries of the region valuable partners, and this line is of great importance in the relationships.
CE: Mr. President, how will Georgia build its relations with other Caspian states, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as well as Uzbekistan? Does Georgia, as a key country, plan to attract new partners into the region?
Giorgi Margvelashvili: In particular, we rely on deepening of cooperation with the Asian region countries since they have high potential and huge markets. Practically, we see the development of our country in the development of the linkage between the Caspian and Black Seas. Azerbaijan is a key player in these projects. Projects’ expansion towards the West and East guarantees their efficiency. Accordingly, it will ensure national security of the countries and the entire region. Now, I mean not only energy projects but also transportation projects that influence the stability in the region. Owing to energy and economic factors, the countries involved in these projects automatically become a support for stability both in Georgia and Azerbaijan. It is a very serious factor because the development of trans-national projects enables to gain friends on both sides of the projects. And as President Ilham Aliyev noted during the meeting, we have to look for friends but not enemies, and we fully agree with him on this.
CE: In conclusion, we would like to note that this year the 20th anniversary of the Contract of the Century and the 15th jubilee of the Caspian Energy are marked. Could you please assess these events from the standpoint of their regional significance?
Giorgi Margvelashvili: It is good that you recalled these events since many things arise from the history. The 90s were the period of great initiatives. Both Heydar Aliyev and Eduard Shevernadze worked on the implementation of the Contract of the Century. Their role can not be exaggerated. The way they reached agreement and found a common language laid serious ground for the development of our region. Caspian Energy is a splendid international journal. I would like to extend my congratulations to the Caspian Energy journal readers in 50 countries over the world, to you on the occasion of this jubilee and wish you creative and professional success.
Thank you for the interview.
