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Italian business mission will visit and explore Georgia in May 2017

The Italian business mission will focus on learning more about Georgia’s investment environment and opportunities. Photo by the PM's press office.
Agenda.ge, 09 Mar 2017 - 11:45, Tbilisi,Georgia

A group of Italian businesspeople will visit Georgia in May this year to foster economic, political, social and cultural relations between the two countries.

This was decided yesterday during a meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Italian Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda in Rome.

The Italian business mission will focus on learning more about Georgia’s investment environment and opportunities.

Kvirikashvili and Calenda both believe Georgia and Italy have significant potential for furthering economic cooperation.

Kvirikashvili said Italy was one of Georgia’s largest trade partners, with trade volume growing by 23 percent in 2016, reaching $335.3 million.

The PM was optimistic about future cooperation with Italy and other countries as the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) deal with the European Union (EU) continues to offer new opportunities for closer bilateral cooperation.

Kvirikashvili and Calenda hope the Italy-Georgia Business Forum held in Rome yesterday will encourage more Italian entrepreneurs to invest in Georgia and that it will boost Georgian exports to Italy.

Kvirikashvili introduced Carlo Calenda to the Georgian Government's four-point reform plan designed to carry out economic growth-oriented reforms, to create a system of education focused on human capital development, spatial planning and effective governance.

Developing tourism relations was another topic of discussion where Kvirikashvili and Calenda spoke of the potential for tourism cooperation.

Last year 12,728 Italian visitors explored Georgia – this made for a seven percent increase year-over-year.

After the meeting with Calenda, Kvirikashvili attended a working dinner at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.