Georgian Infrastructure Minister participating at Belt and Road Forum in China

Georgian Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Maya Tskitishvili delivered a speech at the Zonal Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation held within the Belt and Road Forum today.

Tskitishvili said that the ‘One Belt-One Road’ initiative is important for Georgia and the country is actively involved in its development. She noted that Georgia was among the first countries who signed the memorandum for developing the ‘One Belt-One Road’ initiative in March 2015.

We consider this initiative as a mechanism for developing bilateral trade and investment cooperation and implementing infrastructure projects. In order to promote bilateral trade and economic relations, the Georgia-China free trade agreement entered into force in January 2018. I am proud that Georgia is the first country in the region to have a free trade deal with China as well as the European Union”, said Tskitishvili.

Tskitishvili talked about Georgia’s strategic importance in the region, about its developed transport and customs infrastructure, business-friendly politics and strong external trade relations.

She talked about free industrial zones of Georgia and said that there are five free industrial zones currently operating in Georgia with special taxation laws. 

At the end of his speech Tskitishvili encouraged forum participants to attend the third Silk Road Forum which will be held in Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi in October 2019.