South Caucasus

Irakli Kobakhidze has once again become the chairman of Georgian Dream, the party founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili in 2012 which has since been in power in Georgia. Ivanishvili is the party’s honorary chairman and is widely seen as the country’s shadow ruler. Kobakhidze is also the current prime minister of Georgia and had previously served as party chairman until February 2024. At that time, a political reshuffle took place with then Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili becoming party chairman, while Kobakhidze was nominated for the prime minister’s post.

China and Azerbaijan have announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries following talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Beijing on 23 April. During the talks, President Xi said that both sides should continuously enhance political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation and strengthen international collaboration to open a new chapter of all-round cooperation. President Aliyev was in China for  a state visit between 22 and 24 April.