PM Irakli Garibashvili, who will address UN General Assembly on September 26, held series of bilateral meetings on the margins of the annual UN general debates in New York among them with leaders of Iran and Turkey.

On September 25 the Georgian PM met President of Iran Hassan Rouhani. According to the Iranian president’s office Rouhani expressed readiness for boosting economic ties with Georgia and in particular in respect of implementing infrastructure projects in Georgia in the areas such as energy, gas, water and transportation.

President Rouhani, according to his office, told the Georgian PM that “implementing the Persian Gulf-Black Sea connection project is one of the shared interests of the two countries.” The Iranian President also reiterated support to Georgia’s territorial integrity and called for a “broader regional cooperation aimed at securing the objectives of the regional countries’ sustainable development and stability.”

The Georgian PM also met outgoing EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy; Canadian PM Stephen Harper; Latvian President Andris Bērziņš; Prime Minister of Kuwait Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah; Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal.

PM Garibashvili said that at a meeting with Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia he thanked Saud Al-Faisal for supporting a non-binding resolution on internally displace persons, which Georgia tables at the UN General Assembly annually since 2008. Saudi Arabia, which usually was among those abstaining, voted in favor of the resolution this June.

At a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Georgian PM’s office said, Garibashvili discussed trade and economic ties and agreed to speed up signing of bilateral investment protection treaty.

PM Garibashvili told Georgian journalists in New York on September 25 that he also had a chance to chat briefly with U.S. President Barack Obama at a reception for visiting heads of states and governments.
  
Also in New York, PM met senior executives from the U.S. engineering design company AECOM, which is considering expressing interest in bidding for design, construction and operation of deep-see port project in Anaklia. Officials said that if AECOM applies, the company will do it in consortium with the Seattle-based SSA Marine, one of the world’s largest privately-held terminal operators, and Turkish construction company IC Holding.

Meanwhile, Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze, who is accompanying the PM at the UN headquarters, held series of meetings with her counterparts from about two dozen of countries.

She also participated in a meeting between U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and foreign ministers from the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries, and met separately with Victoria Nuland, the US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.

The Georgian Foreign Minister held bilateral meetings with counterparts from Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Bhutan; Uruguay; Mozambique; Ethiopia; Jamaica; Nigeria; Haiti; Turkmenistan; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Andorra, Montenegro; Cyprus; Timor-Leste; Eretria; Serbia; Trinidad and Tobago; Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau.

She also met Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, who will be EU’s next foreign policy chief.

On September 25 the Georgian Foreign Minister signed an agreement with Benin on establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.