On February 19, 2014 the Third Session of Trilateral Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs was held in Ganja, hosted by H.E. Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and with participation of H.E. Mrs.Maia Panjikidze, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and H.E. Mr.Ahmet Davutoğlu Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey.

Ministers,

Underlined the importance of the regional cooperation, laid out in the Trabzon Declaration of June 8, 2012 and Batumi Joint Communique of March 28, 2013 and new mechanisms of such cooperation reflected in “Trilateral Sectoral Cooperation Action Plan for 2013-2015” as an important platform for political dialogue and implementation of specific trilateral projects;

Stressed their satisfaction with development of relations among the three countries, within both, bilateral and trilateral formats and emphasized the importance of further enhancing cooperation in political, trade, economic, environmental protection and humanitarian fields, including culture, science, healthcare, tourism and sport;

Underlined that the existence of unresolved conflicts lead to death of innocent people, ethnic cleansing, turning of hundreds of thousands into refugees and IDPs, violation of basic human rights and freedoms, destruction of cultural and spiritual heritage and private property, hindering political and economic stability in the South Caucasus;

Reiterated their firm support to each others' sovereignty, territorial integrity and underlined the importance of earliest peaceful settlement of the conflict in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the conflict over Abkhazia, Georgia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia, on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of the states, as well as relevant resolutions and decisions of the UNSC, UNGA, OSCE and CoE. Herewith, emphasized the necessity of the safe and dignified return of the refugees and internally displaced persons to their places of origin.

The Turkish side provided information on the recent developments in Cyprus; Azerbaijani and Georgian sides welcomed the resumption of the comprehensive negotiation process in Cyprus on 11 February 2014 under the auspices of the UN.

Underlined the importance of further enhancing economic cooperation and reaffirmed that sustainable trade and economic relations is a shared goal of all three countries;

Reaffirmed the vital importance of the successful implementation of large-scale energy projects, such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline. Expressed support for the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, noted the importance of “Shahdeniz-2” – one of the largest energy projects in the world - in the context of energy security of the countries involved and welcomed the historic decision on the Stage 2 development of the Shahdeniz field.

Underlined the importance of the earliest conclusion of construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway. Expressed confidence that large-scale transport projects of strategic importance will favour the economic development of the three countries and strengthen economic and commercial ties between Europe and Asia.

Emphasizing the pivotal position of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey on the East-West as well as North-South transport axis, agreed on increasing their cooperation in promoting multimodal transportation through their countries by facilitating of customs formalities and improving infrastructure.

Stressed the significance of the Third Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Business Forum held in May, 2013 in Gabala, reaffirmed the importance of holding business forums in this format on regular basis;

Expressed readiness to start preparations for holding the Summit of the Presidents of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic of Turkey;

Welcomed the decision on holding joint meeting of the Committees on Foreign Relations of the Parliaments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic of Turkey.

Stressed the importance of regular meetings in this trilateral format with the aim to continue and enhance political dialogue on the issue of regional and of global importance and to deepen their coordination and cooperation within international organizations.

Agreed to hold the next Session of the Trilateral Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in 2014 in Turkey.

H.E. Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov
the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan

H.E. Mrs. Maia Panjikidze
the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu
the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey