Georgia’s trade opportunities presented at Georgia-EU conference

A business conference about Georgia’s new trade opportunities with the European Union (EU) was held today in Brussels, Belgium.

The conference, titled ‘Georgia’s new opportunities in free trade with the EU’, was hosted by the EU-Georgia Business Council (EUGBC) and discussed the benefits Georgian export businesses could experience, following on from Georgia’s signing of the Association Agreement (AA) with the EU last June.

Sixty-five large, medium and small-sized Georgian and EU enterprises in the agribusiness, construction and financial services, textile, tourism and other sectors had the opportunity to discuss major challenges faced since the coming into force of some provisions of the EU-Georgia AA, which included the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).

Several Georgian officials attended today’s conference, including State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration David Bakradze. Together, Bakradze and director for Neighbourhood East of the European Commission Gerhard Schumann-Hitzler welcomed the event’s participants.

"The Business Conference provided a useful platform for European companies and potential investors to gain insight on business and investment climate in Georgia, at the time when Georgia is harmonizing its legislation affecting business and services,” the EU later noted in a special statement.

The conference was held with cooperation from the Georgian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy, and the State Minister’s Office on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. It was supported by the EU and EUROCHAMBRES.

The conference was followed by the EUGBC Business Expo & Economic Photo Exhibition, where Georgian companies presented some of their products to the EU audience.