Day: April 8, 2026

Properties will be expropriated from five owners in Tbilisi to make way for the planned construction of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, after Georgian Dream Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili signed a relevant decree citing failed negotiations to secure voluntary sales.

According to the decree, dated April 3, the project “is considered an essential public need.” It states that “since no agreement was reached between the company and the property owners on the voluntary acquisition of the property, there is a need to deprive ownership rights through expropriation.”

The construction of the center, funded by Azerbaijan and Georgia, was initially planned on land plots at 25 Gorgasali Street, near the Azerbaijani Embassy, where the foundation for the new building was laid in 2023. However, according to the decree, “during the building design stage,” it was found that an expansion was necessary.

The expansion, the decree notes, is set to claim an apartment complex of “Italian courtyard” style – a residential settlement organized around a shared courtyard, characteristic of older Tbilisi neighborhoods. According to the decree, agreements were reached with 13 owners in the complex who sold their apartment-type properties voluntarily, while the remaining five, who refused voluntary transfer, will face expropriation.

The decree states that the project envisions the construction of the center on a 5,380-square-meter site, including a large building with a 780-square-meter public space. The complex will include a children’s theater, a concert hall, and other spaces designed for cultural events.

“The center should be established as a multifunctional educational platform where cultural and academic programs will be implemented,” the decree reads. “This will promote the exchange of knowledge, the development of young people, and the further strengthening of regional cooperation.”

It adds that the center “will create additional opportunities for the development of cultural tourism” and serve as a venue for international events, exhibitions, and festivals, which “will have a positive impact on the country’s economic activity and contribute to improving the investment environment.”

The project is funded by the Azerbaijani government, while the Georgian side contributes through land acquisition, including purchasing and transferring specific plots into state ownership.

The decree was published on April 7, a day after Ilham Aliyev’s April 6 visit to Tbilisi, where the Azerbaijani leader held meetings with the Georgian Dream officials, including GD-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili and GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, as well as with the ruling party founder and currently its Honorary Chairman, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Also Read:

• 05/04/2026 – Georgian Court Rules to Deport Journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan After Late-Night Arrest
• 08/12/2025 – Azerbaijani Media Accuse Georgia of Border Delays, Tariff Pressure
• 16/04/2025 – Mikheil Kavelashvili Visits Azerbaijan
• 17/01/2025 – Georgian Dream PM Kobakhidze Visits Azerbaijan

A meeting was held on April 8 at the Media Development Agency (MEDİA) of Azerbaijan with a delegation led by Rustam Ali, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan.

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The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) reported on April 8 that a Georgian citizen who had been held in illegal detention is now “free” and in Tbilisi-controlled territory. While the agency did not specify the occupied region where the individual had been held, the Tskhinvali de facto authorities reported about the “expulsion” of a Georgian national.

“In the process of releasing a Georgian citizen from illegal detention, both the “hotline” mechanism operating with the direct involvement of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) and all relevant instruments available to the central government were actively used,” the SSSG said, adding that they “continue to work actively toward the release of all Georgian citizens held in illegal detention in the occupied territories.”

In line with its new practice, the agency did not disclose the individual’s identity or release any photos of their release. It also did not provide the location or date of detention, nor specify the occupied territory where the individual had been held illegally.

In a separate report also released on April 8, RES, a media agency run by the de facto authorities of the Russia-occupied Tskhinvali region, cited the local KGB press service as saying that Zurab Gachechiladze, a 1984-born resident of Khashuri municipality, had been detained for “illegally crossing the republic’s border” near the village of Vakhtana. According to the same source, he was later “expelled” from the territory.

According to the Georgian Public Defender’s latest annual report on the State of Human Rights and Freedoms, in 2025, a total of 32 individuals were detained along the occupation line of the Tskhinvali region, including 25 men, three women, and four minors. In the direction of occupied Abkhazia, 40 individuals were detained, including 35 men, three women, and four minors.

Also Read:

• 01/04/2026 – 131st IPRM Meeting Held in Ergneti
• 24/02/2026 – Illegally Detained Georgian Citizen Released From Tskhinvali Custody
• 22/02/2026 – Illegally Detained Georgian Citizen Released from Tskhinvali Custody
• 10/02/2026 – Georgian Citizen Illegally Detained by Russian Occupation Forces Released
  

By 2030, nine new stations are scheduled to be added to the Baku Metro, with the design phase for these stations already completed, AzerNEWS reports.