The Istanbul Declaration of the Tenth Trilateral Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia has been signed.
According to the news provided to “Elchi” by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the declaration states that the Tenth Trilateral Meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries was held in Istanbul on June 8, 2026, at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Hakan Fidan, and with the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Ms. Maka Botchorishvili, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Jeyhun Bayramov.
The Ministers, emphasizing the excellent relations between their countries based on traditions of deep friendship, good neighborliness, mutual respect, and trust, expressing their desire to further advance the existing strong cooperation in all areas of mutual interest, including political, economic, trade, peace and security, science and technology, and cultural spheres, highly appreciating the important contributions their countries have made to the establishment of sustainable peace and stability, and affirming the importance of this approach for development and prosperity in the region and beyond, taking into account the growing threats faced by their countries, not limited to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, transnational organized crime, cyberattacks, and hybrid forms of warfare, recognizing the importance of further developing trade and investment relations between their countries to create a strong economic profile in the region, and affirming regional connectivity as a vital element for regional cooperation, economic growth, and development in the region, have declared the following:
They reaffirmed their strong and unequivocal support for each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of their borders;
They emphasized the importance of strong trilateral cooperation to overcome regional and global challenges;
They stressed the importance of regional peace, security, and stability for the full realization of the region’s potential for cooperation and affirmed the positive role of all three countries in this direction;
They reiterated that the restoration of Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders is of utmost importance;
They emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation in the fields of transport and energy, including green energy and low-carbon technologies;
They highly appreciated the strategic contribution of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor to regional and European energy security;
They emphasized the importance of further developing people-to-people contacts, education, social and cultural exchanges, tourism, and ICT, including utilizing opportunities to improve and strengthen air, rail, and road connections and regional connectivity;
They noted the important steps taken by their countries to strengthen their transit potential, including the Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor, a rail-based multimodal transport corridor passing through Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, as well as efforts to integrate into the international transit system;
They emphasized the key role of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway within the Middle Corridor and welcomed the event held on June 2 at the Akhalkalaki International Railway Station in Georgia on the occasion of the completion of modernization works within the BTK Railway Project;
They reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation towards strengthening regional connectivity through the mechanism of the foreign ministers and ministers responsible for transport of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia;
They emphasized the strategic partnership in the energy sector and reaffirmed their full support for the continuation and further expansion of this partnership, including the use of interconnectors for the transport and trade of green energy;
They supported cooperation in the field of sustainable growth, including the efficient use of renewable energy;
They emphasized the importance of developing and strengthening regional cooperation on environmental protection and combating climate change;
In this context, they welcomed Turkey’s presidency of the 31st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);
They highly appreciated Azerbaijan’s successful hosting of the Thirteenth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) and its contribution to advancing international cooperation, dialogue, and sustainable development;
They renewed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in accordance with relevant international and regional instruments to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, transnational organized crime, including illicit trafficking in arms, drugs and their precursors, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, money laundering, crimes against cultural and historical heritage, and cybercrime;
They pledged sustainable and enhanced cooperation in economic areas of mutual interest through efficient and result-oriented projects;
They expressed their readiness to maintain direct contacts through the business circles, chambers of commerce and industry, as well as industrial and business associations of the three states, including further encouraging investments in areas of mutual interest, as well as exploring export-import opportunities and new modalities to promote economic cooperation;
In this regard, they welcomed the holding of the seventh “Turkey-Azerbaijan-Georgia Business Forum” in Tsinandali, Georgia, on February 26, 2026;
They emphasized the success of the trilateral mechanisms established between the three countries, including inter-parliamentary cooperation;
They highly appreciated the active cooperation of their states, including supporting each other’s candidacies within international organizations whenever possible;
The Ministers expressed their deep gratitude to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Hakan Fidan, for the successful organization of the meeting;
The Ministers emphasized the importance of holding regular trilateral meetings and decided to hold the Eleventh Trilateral Meeting in Georgia in 2027 on dates to be mutually agreed upon.”