Georgia is a safe place to invest, says PM in Germany

The Prime Minister of Georgia says Georgia is "open for business" and is encouraging German investors to invest in Georgia.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili delivered speech at the Georgia-German Business Forum last night in Berlin where he spoke about Germany’s strong support for Georgia and the country’s rapidly expanding economy. 

One highlight of his speech was when he told forum attendees investing in Georgia would be "as safe as investing in any country in Europe".

At the beginning of his speech, Garibashvili expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the event - the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations – and said strengthening relations with Germany was "greatly significant” to Georgia.

"My frequent presence in Germany over the past week, as well as the steady engagement by many of my Ministers, highlights how highly my Government views the Georgia-German relationship. It is of vital importance to us and is a top priority,” Garibashvili said.

He said Germany had been a strong supporter of Georgia and was one of the country’s foremost partners since Georgia regained independence. He noted Germany supported Georgia’s social-economic development, democratic consolidation, territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

"Germany is one of those important Western European countries that can relate to where Georgia has been and where Georgia is going,” he added.

Garibashvili said Georgia had always been a European country and signing the Association Agreement (AA) would provide an essential avenue towards rebuilding the family connection.

"While the successes of Georgia’s development is the result of hard work by many over decades, the important reforms my Government has enacted over the last two years has brought us to this important moment," Garibashvili said.

"We have focused all our efforts on building a solid foundation to consolidate Georgia’s democracy and prosperity, to ensure that we will be a true and lasting part of Europe."

When speaking about Georgia’s tax system and attractiveness of Georgia’s investment market, PM Garibashvili stressed Georgia could have the lowest tax rates in the world and many business incentives but investors would not come if there was no rule of law.

"We have brought the rule of law back to Georgia and we have ended Government impunity. Georgia is not only open for business but it is safe for business,” PM Garibashvili added.

In this light, he listed some of the top goals of his Government. Among them included ensuring and guaranteeing macroeconomic stability, open and fair competition in the market and proper protection of property and intellectual rights. Other goals included freedom of access to an independent judicial system, effective financial systems and a stable predictable and transparent legislative environment.

"For you, investing in Georgia will be as safe as investing in any country in Europe except that your costs and taxes will be lower, there will be fewer regulatory burdens, and your returns will be higher. Of everything I have said, I hope that sentence got your attention,” PM said to the businessmen.

He added the Georgia-German Business Forum provided an excellent opportunity to explore how to deepen economic ties between Georgia and Germany.

From here he invited forum participants to the Georgia-EU International Investors’ Conference, which will take place in Tbilisi on June 12 and 13.

To highlight the progress of Georgia’s rapidly expanding economy, Garibashvili recited impressive figures that resulted from recently implemented market-oriented reforms and investment programs.

"Estimates indicate that the DCFTA will increase Georgia’s exports to the EU by 12 percent and imports from the EU by 7.5 percent,” he said.

"In the first three months of 2014, Georgia’s trade turnover with the EU grew 15 percent year-on-year to $635 million, with an amazing 45 percent year-on-year increase in exports and 9 percent increase in imports.

"This was without the DCFTA being in force. We cannot wait for the DCFTA to unlock the full potential of this trade,” Garibashvili stated.

"To attract more foreign investment, we have launched numerous initiatives to help reduce risks and increase returns. On the grand scale, new public and private investment funds with billions at their disposal have been established to help finance foreign investments in Georgia.

"And at micro level, we have just launched a new $26 million initiative called ‘Produce in Georgia’ to support smaller manufacturing and agricultural projects,” Garibashvili said.

He added two other major developments were game-changers for Georgia; its strategic location and important role in the energy independence of Europe.

Prime Minister Garibashvili is on an official visit to Germany