Georgia and Azerbaijan sign energy and transit deals at Aliyev-Kobakhidze summit

Georgia signed a package of energy and infrastructure agreements with Azerbaijan on May 18, deepening ties along the Middle Corridor as Tbilisi seeks to expand its role as a regional transit hub.

The deals, concluded during a meeting between President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in Baku, cover natural gas supply, electricity imports and transit, the revival of the Baku-Tbilisi-Supsa oil pipeline, and railway rehabilitation work on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line.

The agreements position Azerbaijan as Georgia's central energy partner at a moment when both countries are pushing to develop the Middle Corridor — the trans-Caspian route linking Central Asia and China to Europe via the South Caucasus and Turkey — as an alternative to Russian transit networks.

Kobakhidze called the electricity import and transit agreement "very important" and said the Baku-Tbilisi-Supsa deal would generate tens of millions of dollars annually in transit revenues for Georgia, according to a post on his social media accounts on May 18.

Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili told local media that Azerbaijan was an indispensable strategic partner in the context of Middle Corridor development. "Particularly when we speak about development perspectives such as the Middle Corridor, Azerbaijan is an important strategic partner for us," she said on May 18. "In this context, truly important agreements were signed today." She added that fully realising Georgia's transit potential was among Tbilisi's top priorities.

The rehabilitation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Supsa pipeline carries particular weight. The pipeline, which connects Azerbaijani oil fields to Georgia's Black Sea coast, has been inactive in recent years. Economy Minister Mariam Kvirivishvili said the government had decided to partner with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) to restore it. "The Georgian government, as a result of negotiations, has decided to begin cooperation with SOCAR, and this will enable the joint restoration of the pipeline," she said on May 18.

On the railway front, the two sides signed the protocol of the 41st session of the Coordination Council on the rehabilitation, reconstruction and construction of the Marabda-Turkish border (Kartsakhi) rail section, part of the broader Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project that already links the three countries by rail.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line, which opened in 2017, has seen rising freight volumes as shippers reroute cargo away from Russian territory. The Marabda-Kartsakhi section is a Georgian bottleneck on the route, and its upgrade is considered critical to increasing the corridor's capacity.

Georgia has no domestic hydrocarbon production and relies heavily on energy imports. Azerbaijan is already its primary gas supplier, and the new agreements extend that dependency into electricity, while locking in pipeline transit revenues that give Tbilisi a financial stake in Azerbaijani export flows.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Supsa pipeline has a capacity of around 100,000 barrels a day.