7th Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Forum: Trilateral Trade Hits $3.1 Billion as 'Davos of Caucasus' Eyes AI and Ports

More than 400 government officials and business representatives from Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey gathered in Tsinandali, Kakheti this week for the 7th Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Business Forum — a gathering that Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat pointedly described as the "Davos of Caucasus."

The forum, co-organized by AZPROMO, the Georgian Chamber of Commerce, and Turkey's DEIK, brought together Azerbaijan Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, Georgia Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili, and Turkey Trade Minister Bolat. The agenda centered on concrete expansion of economic cooperation, mutual investment, trade turnover growth, and joint infrastructure projects.

Georgian Economy Minister Kvrivishvili highlighted a landmark figure: total Azerbaijani investment in Georgia since 2003 has now surpassed $3.1 billion, cementing Baku as one of Tbilisi's most significant capital partners. The statistic underscores how the three-way economic relationship — built on the BTC pipeline, BTK railway, and Southern Gas Corridor — has deepened well beyond its original energy infrastructure foundations.

Turkey's Bolat used the forum to project Ankara's economic ambitions, announcing that Turkish GDP is projected to reach $1.6 trillion in 2026 — a sixfold increase since 2002 — with per capita GDP reaching $18,000, positioning Turkey as Europe's fifth-largest economy. He described the three countries as sitting "at the very centre of the world's energy transfer and logistics routes" and called for much closer economic integration across port operations, airline networks, IT, and artificial intelligence sectors.

Special attention at the forum was directed toward the Southern Gas Corridor, Middle Corridor logistics, and the emerging TRIPP transport route connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan through Armenia. Participants framed these initiatives as the new generation of trilateral infrastructure investment, extending the physical connectivity already established by oil pipelines and rail.

For regional investors, the forum signals that the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey economic axis is actively broadening from its energy roots into technology, logistics, and digital infrastructure — sectors with significantly higher growth potential and less commodity price dependency than the hydrocarbon projects that originally defined the relationship.