Georgian Parliament Speaker says Georgia serves as strategic gateway between Europe and Asia, highlights support for Belt and Road initiative

Georgia is one of the strongest supporters of the Belt and Road Initiative, and has traditionally served as a bridge between Europe and Asia, said Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili in an interview with China’s CGTN.

Responding to a question about further strengthening cooperation between Tbilisi and Beijing in connectivity, Papuashvili emphasised Georgia’s strategic role in linking Europe and Asia and expressed hope for deeper cooperation with China in developing logistics infrastructure.

“Yes, indeed, Georgia is one of the huge supporters of the Belt and Road Initiative, and Georgia traditionally had a role of connecting Europe with Asia. We see nowadays that the historic role Georgia always had has also a role nowadays. Georgia and generally the South Caucasus offers the fastest and cheapest way to connect Europe with Asia, to connect China with the European Union”, the Speaker noted.

“This is why we see ourselves as a part in supporting this initiative. In this regard, most importantly for us is development of the logistic infrastructure, where we hope to have a more intensive exchange and cooperation with China, would be development of the logistic infrastructure in Georgia, which at the end will benefit all participants who are, who will use the middle, so-called middle corridor or Caspian corridor. So this is why it's mutually beneficial to be part of this idea”, he concluded.