Baku-Tbilisi partnership that Europe depends on but rarely notices |
When Mikheil Kavelashvili was elected as Georgia's new president, the first visit he undertook was neither to Brussels nor Washington nor Ankara; it was to Baku. This move, which took place in April 2025, signalled a clear message regarding where Georgia’s most important partnership currently stands. Today, the visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Georgia concludes this cycle, the ultimate form of diplomatic exchange within the bilateral arsenal, meticulously planned with all due ceremony at Shota Rustaveli International Airport.
But once the rhetoric of joint declarations is stripped away, what remains is a unique relationship forged between the two states over the past thirty years that has been of a strategic nature. Azerbaijan and Georgia's trade turnover was estimated at $881 million in 2025, almost doubling the amount registered ten years ago. Azerbaijan is Georgia’s largest trading partner and the sole provider of energy resources, with SOCAR exporting gas to Georgia and maintaining a sizeable network of retail and downstream operations in the country. Azerbaijan has invested a total of $3.1 billion in Georgia's economy.
The tangible manifestation of this alliance is represented by infrastructure. The oil........