Energy Security Conference Shows Georgia as Reliable Partner
The International Energy Forum ‘Energy Security – Old and New Geopolitical Paradigm’ opened in Tbilisi on June 9, focusing on the rapidly changing global energy environment, the pressure of globalization, and the existing trends and challenges in the energy field. In attendance were representatives of the diplomatic corps and civil society, politicians, scientists and experts from different countries.
Georgia’s Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, addressed participants and spoke about Georgia’s energy security, the current and planned energy projects, Georgia's role as a transit country and about the country's strategic geographical location. He also mentioned the investment opportunities and the importance of the New Silk Road and Economic Belt project, connecting East and West.
He also mentioned that the overall volume of investments made in the energy sector amounts to USD 45 billion (95 billion GEL), of which USD 2 billion (about 4 billion GEL) was invested directly in Georgia.
“We recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first transit project, the Baku-Supsa Pipeline. The pipeline was the first project to put Georgia on the energy map. Since then we have implemented several important projects, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the South Caucasus gas pipeline and the Shah Deniz project, which guarantees supply of additional gas to the pipeline,” said PM Kvirikashvili.
Kvirikashvili then focused on joint programs with Azerbaijan and highlighted the role of the US, which provides strong support for ensuring energy security.
“The United States is an important strategic partner. This is a partnership that has been in place for 25 years, since Georgia regained independence. Therefore, implementation of strategic projects, such as the "Baku-Supsa", "Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline," and "Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline" became possible largely due to US support. The US is a power of great regional importance. Our region has frozen projects- we face terrorism related threats and, therefore, it is impossible to mitigate and fight these dangers without the support of the United States,” said the PM.
He also noted that Georgia has demonstrated that it is a stable partner for the West, and represents a decent base for the expansion of cooperation between the countries of the East and the West. The role of Georgia and neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey, in the global energy processes was another main theme of the Conference. The discussion also touched upon the ability of the European Union and western countries to foster the transit role and function of Georgia and strengthen its comparative advantage.
The conference was organized by the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC), the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and the US Embassy to Georgia.
Eka Karsaulidze