ANKARA
With the centennial anniversary of relations between Turkey and Georgia, the countries' bilateral cooperation is increasing in many fields, particularly in trade.
The history of Turkey's relations with its neighbor Georgia dates back to the period of the Turkish War of Independence, which started after World War I.
To improve relations with the Democratic Republic of Georgia and better follow the developments in the Caucasus, Col. Kazim Dirik was appointed the "extraordinary representative of the Ankara government" in Tbilisi on Oct. 22, 1920.
On Feb. 8, 1921, Georgia's first Ambassador to Ankara Simon Mdivani presented his letter of credentials to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, then-the speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the founder of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
The Democratic Republic of Georgia collapsed in 1921 with its occupation by the Soviet Union, some three years after its establishment.
1st recognition
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia declared its independence on April 9, 1991.
Turkey became the first country to recognize the independence of Georgia on Dec. 16, 1991.
After Georgia gained its independence, Turkey-Georgia relations started to develop continuously.
A protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries was signed on May 21, 1992, and the Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborhood Agreement on July 30, 1992.
Besides the deals on the development of Turkey-Georgia relations, many agreements have been signed between the two states in political, economic, cultural, and other fields so far.
In line with the protocol signed on May 31, 2011, which entered into force on Dec. 10, 2011, citizens of the two countries were allowed to travel to each other's countries without passports, but only with a national identity document.
Free trade agreement
Expanding relations between Ankara and Tbilisi since 1991 contributed to the further development of bilateral trade.
The free trade agreement between Turkey and Georgia, signed in Tbilisi on Nov. 21, 2007, entered into force on Nov. 1, 2008.
As of today, Turkey is Georgia's largest trading partner.
According to the data of Georgia's National Institute of Statistics, with over $1.59 billion, Turkey became the country's largest commercial partner last year.
Turkish companies also continue their investments in neighboring Georgia.
In Georgia, the Turkish companies have investments worth nearly $213 million, especially in the energy field.
Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline has made a significant contribution to the development of relations between Turkey and Georgia.
The pipeline, officially opened on July 13, 2006, provides the transportation of oil extracted from the Caspian Sea to world markets via Turkey.
According to a statement by the British Petroleum Azerbaijan Office, the amount of crude oil transported to Ceyhan Port from 2006, the year the BTC became operational, to April 2021 reached 482 million tons (3.62 billion barrels).
*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev in Ankara
