Italy-Georgia Business Forum: PM promotes business-friendly Georgia

Georgia is looking at ways to enhance its business ties with Italy and attract more Italian investors, especially in the fields of industrial manufacturing, real estate, hospitality and infrastructure.

For this reason Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili attended the Italy-Georgia Business Forum held today in Rome, where more than 250 leading Italian and Georgian companies were represented.

PM Kvirikashvili informed foreign investors about opportunities offered by Georgia’s business-friendly environment and ways both sides can benefit from closer ties.

In particular, Kvirikashvili highlighted Georgia’s low rate of taxation, light market regulations, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) deal signed with the European Union (EU) and reforms that are oriented on fast economic growth and that encourage business.

More than 250 leading Italian and Georgian companies attended the Italy-Georgia Business Forum. Photo by the PM's press office.

PM Kvirikashvili said the case for Italian investors to come to Georgia was becoming stronger for a few reasons.

First, investing in Georgia requires little legal hassle and normative adjustment. Georgia’s DCFTA agreement with the EU – established in 2014 – is particularly important for us, as it envisions the gradual economic integration of Georgia with the EU’s internal market.

Secondly, Georgia is a window to a number of markets. We are an opening window to the economies of Central Asia and the Far East. In this respect, we provide physical access through modern transport infrastructure and normative access in terms of free trade agreements. Specifically, we have already finalised negotiations and Georgia will be the first country in the region to have a Free Trade Agreement with China. We also have in place FTA agreements with the CIS, Turkey, and [trade agreements] with the United States, Canada and Japan and plan to launch FTA negotiations with India this year. Thanks to a liberal trade regime, low taxes, and our strategic location, Georgia has become a new regional frontier for investment opportunities”, said Kvirikashvili.

While delivering his speech Kvirkashvili talked about Georgia’s four point reform plan that "will allow us to make a qualitative leap, as an emerging economy that is aspiring to become more diversified and knowledge-based”.

At Georgian-Italian #businessforum: #Georgia is open for business.We offer low cost&light on regulation market pic.twitter.com/D653ZAUwab

— Giorgi Kvirikashvili (@KvirikashviliGi) March 8, 2017

He also spoke about some of the largest projects of Georgia and gave the future port near Anaklia as an example – the only deep-sea port on the Eastern side of the Black Sea which sits on the shortest route from China to Europe.

We will not merely provide access to markets, but will create markets”, said Kvirkashvili.

He encouraged Italian investors to be more interested in Georgia as "there is a strong foundation to build on”.

Kvirikashvili stated that Italy was Georgia’s number 10 trade partner, with $335 million in total trade turnover last year. Georgian exports to Italy amounted to $72 million and imports from Italy came to about $263 million.

While these numbers are encouraging, there remains much room for growth. Enhancing trade relations between our countries is a top priority, and I think we can achieve that through partnerships at all levels. But what we hope for is that Italian businesses will view Georgia as a launchpad for production and distribution to other markets.

At the end of the forum two memorandums have been signed between Georgia and Italy. Photo by the PM's press office. 

One major recent development that will help facilitate people-to-people exchanges and business opportunities between our nations is the visa-free travel regime that the EU just approved for Georgian citizens. As result, you can expect to see a lot more Georgians visiting and cooperating with Italian business partners in the near future”, said Kvirikashvili.

At the end of the forum Georgia’s state-owned shareholding company Partnership Fund and Italian export credit agency SACE signed a memorandum of cooperation. The same kind of memorandum was signed between Georgia’s and Italy’s chambers of commerce.