Georgia the first joint meeting of its foreign minister with counterparts from all five Central Asian countries in Batumi on 23 October, as Tbilisi seeks to expand regional partnerships and strengthen its role as a transport and logistics link between Asia and Europe. Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili received Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev, Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin and Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov. The meeting addressed political dialogue, economic and trade cooperation, transport connectivity and the Middle Corridor, which connects Central Asia to the South Caucasus and Europe through the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.

Botchorishvili named closer relations with Central Asia as a strategic foreign-policy priority, arguing that changing regional conditions and conflicts around the region have increased Georgia’s importance for Central Asian countries seeking access to international markets. “Georgia has a key role,” she said, highlighting transport and logistics as areas of shared interest. Botchorishvili added that the meeting demonstrated Georgia’s value in providing Central Asian countries with access to European and global markets, and that stronger connectivity would require regular cooperation between institutions as well as sustained political dialogue. The minister that Georgia’s regional role had grown in light of the conflicts around it. Botchorishvili also emphasised that the goal was to turn shared interests into practical economic results rather than rely on diplomatic declarations alone.

In a separate briefing, Botchorishvili that the Middle Corridor connects Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Europe through the Black Sea, making the development of transport capacity a shared strategic interest. Botchorishvili pointed to “historic friendship, shared economic interests and the common goal of strengthening links between Europe and Asia”, saying that fully developing the route would require “close coordination, developed infrastructure and strong political will”. Botchorishvili maintained that cooperation should extend beyond transport and trade to political trust, regional peace and stability, and closer ties between the countries’ populations.

On 22 October, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze the visiting foreign ministers at an official dinner. He thanked them for coming to Georgia and reiterated that strengthening relations with Central Asian countries and expanding cooperation across different sectors were government priorities. Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandre Khvtisiashvili the Batumi gathering as the first time in independent Georgia’s history that the country had hosted foreign ministers from all five Central Asian states at one meeting. According to Khvtisiashvili, the pace of economic development in Georgia and Central Asia had been striking and that “strategic economic objectives are aligned”. Khvtisiashvili also expressed hope that meetings in this format would continue, saying they could strengthen connectivity and contribute to economic and geopolitical stability.

The visiting ministers also held bilateral meetings with Botchorishvili. Talks with Uzbekistan’s Bakhtiyor Saidov focused on trade, economic ties, the Middle Corridor and developments at regional and global levels, according to the. In her meeting with Kyrgyzstan’s Zheenbek Kulubaev, Botchorishvili discussed political dialogue, economic cooperation, the Middle Corridor and wider regional cooperation, with both sides exchanging the enthusiasm that the new format would strengthen their partnership. reported that the talks followed recent efforts to deepen links between the two countries. Discussions with Tajikistan’s Sirojiddin Muhriddin covered bilateral and multilateral relations, the Georgian prime minister’s recent visit to Tajikistan and further cooperation on the Middle Corridor, according to the. In the meeting with Turkmenistan’s Rashid Meredov, the two sides regional developments, political dialogue and the need to deepen trade and economic cooperation. Both underlined the importance of the Georgia-Turkmenistan partnership for developing the Middle Corridor. The with Kazakhstan’s Mukhtar Tileuberdi addressed the existing strategic partnership, political dialogue, economic cooperation, and exchanges of high-level visits.

The Batumi meeting builds on Georgia’s intensified engagement with Central Asia this year, including the establishment of strategic partnerships with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and state visits by the presidents of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.