Bucharest has today hosted the joint meeting of the foreign ministers of Georgia, Romania, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan where Bucharest Statement on the development of Black Sea-Caspian Freight Transport Corridor was signed, - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia said on March 4.

According to the Ministry, the Foreign Ministers of the four countries reaffirmed their political will with respect to the development of new transport corridors in the region.

Signing the Statement, the Ministers highlighted the importance of this transit route in connecting the east and the west. According to them, connecting Central Asia with Europe via the two seas is the shortest and the most cost-effective route out of available transport networks.

Special note was taken of the fact that Romania, as a member of the EU is involved in the development of the new route that will lead to the European Union’s further active participation in transport routes. Romania is the current EU Presidency. According to the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, the new route will take up a prominent place in the EU-Central Asia Co-operation Strategy that will be approved in summer 2019.

“A quadrilateral expert working group will be established to conduct negotiations and collaborate all technical aspects, to optimize operational procedures and to facilitate work on harmonization of tariffs and simplification of customs procedures.

The sides emphasized the achieved progress in development of sea infrastructure, including the upgrading of the Poti Port and the development of the Anaklia Deep Sea Port.

The Georgian side emphasized that the strengthening of Georgia as the region’s logistical hub is one of the Government’s priorities. Various projects are implemented in this regard, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, the East-West Highway Development Project, Lapis Lazuli Transport Corridor, Anaklia Deep Sea Port, Persian Gulf – Black Sea Transportation Corridor, Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, etc.

Black Sea-Caspian Sea International Transport Route was launched in Ashkhabad, on 24 and 25 October 2018,” the Foreign Ministry said.