Georgia and the Silk Road in the years

2025-01-14

1990 – During his visit to Japan, Eduard Shevardnadze stopped in Vladivostok and then first spoke about the possibilities of restoring the “Silk Road”.

1991 – The Republic of Georgia, led by its first President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, declared the restoration of independence.

1992 – At a meeting of the governments of the Black Sea states in Istanbul, the so-called “Bosphorus Declaration” and the “Declaration on Black Sea Economic Cooperation” were adopted.

1993 – Representatives of the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus gather in Brussels. It was at this conference that the foundation for the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) project was laid.

1994 – In September, the so-called “Contract of the Century”, which envisaged the exploitation of Caspian Sea energy resources and their transportation to international markets, which became a kind of “political” guide in the further development of the “West-East”;

1995 – President of the Azerbaijan International Operating Company – Terry Adams arrives in Georgia, this is his first visit. He meets with the President of Georgia and the conversation concerns the decision to lay the oil pipeline through Georgia. On October 19, at 12 o’clock at night, two routes were chosen – the Northern and the Georgian. For the first time, by transporting only the pipes necessary for this project, we proved that our path is the shortest, fastest and easiest to implement.

1996 – Economic interests and the fact that it would be simply ridiculous to expect any economic assistance from a weakened Russia itself force the Georgian government to focus on the economic and political interests of the West in the foreign policy sphere. In March, the main principle of the “Peaceful Caucasus” initiative of the President of Georgia was the protection of transport and other communications and the inadmissibility of their blockage.

1997 – A group of Israeli entrepreneurs attempted to build the Anaklia port.

1998 – A Georgian-Ukrainian consortium presented a new plan for the Anaklia project.

1999 – The US Congress adopted the law “On the Silk Road Development Strategy”. This year, Georgia became the 41st member of the Council of Europe; the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline is also already in operation.

2000 – The independent “Center for European Policy Studies” in Brussels, with the support of experts Sergiu Celak and Michael Emerson, presented a new conceptual document to the international community for consideration in May: “A Stability Pact for the Caucasus”.

2001 – The Georgian-Ukrainian consortium for the Anaklia project presented a new plan again when international tenders were announced. However, due to the unstable domestic political situation in Georgia at that time, this project was not implemented.

2002 – Construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline began.

2003 – The Swiss company EGL GROUP (hereinafter Axpo) announced the creation of the Trans-Adriatic project.

2004 – Construction of the Shah Deniz gas pipeline begins. Natural gas transport pipeline From the Azerbaijani sector via Georgia to Turkey.

2005 – NATO project, Network Infrastructure Grant “Development of Training Centers for NRENs of the Silk Road Countries for Network Security Training”.

2006 – Shah Deniz gas pipeline was put into operation.

2007 – The design of the main stage of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) was completed. Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia signed a project for the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. A new international airport was opened in Tbilisi. Georgia and Turkey signed a free trade agreement. The second stage of the construction of the East-West Motorway was completed, connecting the two sections of the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze Expressway.

2008 – The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline began transporting Kazakh oil. The construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway begins.

2009 – TAP begins exploring the Albanian route.

2010 – The Anaklia port project was already presented under the name “Lazik”. The East-West Highway and the Mestia Road continued. The transportation of Turkmen oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline began.

2011 – At the Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum in New York, the construction of the “Iron Silk Road”, which is being implemented by the Marabda-Kartsakh railway, was named among the world’s 100 global projects.

2012 – In December, the Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia hosted an exhibition of Chinese contemporary art “Multicolored Silk” Road".

2013 - The Chinese government announced the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. In the same year, the Marmaray railway tunnel connecting the European and Asian parts of Turkey under the Bosphorus Strait was opened.

2014 – In May, the Caucasus Summit was held in Tbilisi, where the presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia participated. The prospects for the implementation of geo-economic projects implemented in the “West-East” corridor were discussed. This year, the “Anaklia Development Consortium” was created. In the same year, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement (DCFTA) with the European Union was signed in Brussels by the Prime Minister of Georgia.

2015 – On January 29, the first cargo from China by rail arrived in Georgia on February 6, while previously it took 45 days to bring the same cargo by sea; in June, Georgia became the 45th founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; In addition, the construction of the Zhezkazgan-Beinyu railway, completed by Kazakhstan, has reduced the length of the route by about 1,000 kilometers.

2016 – Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan agreed to reduce tariffs on goods passing through their territories. In the same year, the European Commission supported the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project and the foundation stone for the pipeline was laid in Thessaloniki, which will transport up to 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas through Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Serbia and Albania to Italy.

2017 – The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was officially opened in Baku.

2018 – The free trade agreement agreed between China and Georgia officially entered into force.

2019 – Tbilisi will host the Silk Road Forum on October 22-23. It will be attended by about 2,000 government and business representatives from 60 countries around the world.

2020 – The construction of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline is completed. It will join the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline and, according to the project, Europe will be supplied with natural gas from the Caspian region.

2021 – US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrives in Georgia and announces from Tbilisi for everyone to hear that the “3+3” format will not take place, that Georgia will not participate in this project.

2022 – At the initiative of the European Union, the construction of a new energy pipeline project running through the Black Sea begins with the involvement of Hungary, Romania, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Also, the President of Azerbaijan announces an investment of 100 million US dollars for the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. In September, an agreement was signed between the GUAM member states on the creation of a free trade zone.

2023 - In October, the "Silk Road Forum" in Tbilisi was attended by more than 2,000 guests from more than 60 countries of the world.

2024 - The Georgian government adopts dictatorial laws, as a result of which the country began to distance itself from the European Union. European observers considered the parliamentary elections held in the country that year to be unfair.

The Freedom Train will definitely come to Georgia from the Silk Road.

Giorgi the Magnificent was the last king of Georgia, who successfully implemented the country's involvement in trade routes and received large income from them. After that, the Georgian kings lost control of the Silk Roads.

TRACECA.GE