Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze will arrive in Turkey Wednesday for a two-day visit to strengthen bilateral cooperation already boosted by a joint oil pipeline project, the Turkish foreign ministry announced Monday.
Shevardnadze will have talks with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi on Wednesday.
He will have further talks Thursday with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, his deputies Devlet Bahceli and Mesut Yilmaz, as well as former president Suleyman Demirel on Thursday.
"The visit of the Georgian president will give a new momentum to the improvement of the good relations that the two countries have developed in all fields," the foreign ministry statement said.
Ankara and Tbilisi have developed friendly ties since Georgia gained independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Over the past three years, Turkey has donated some 13 million dollars for Georgia's defense needs.
The two countries are also cooperating on a major oil pipeline project, heavily backed by the United States, that will carry oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan through Georgia to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, bypassing Russia.
Construction of the 2.4-billion-dollar pipeline is due to begin next year -- ANKARA (AFP)
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