Georgia plans to deepen cooperation with South Korea in free trade, tourism
This was the first conversation in history between the presidents of Georgia and South Korea since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. Photo: President's press office.
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Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae-in earlier today to discuss cooperation between the two countries and wrote on her twitter account that Georgia and South Korea are “ready to move to more concrete steps on free trade, more tourism, and more cooperation once this pandemic is over.”
Today’s talk with @moonriver365 is the first-ever between the Presidents of Georgia ???????? and the Republic of Korea ????????. Ready to move to more concrete steps on #FreeTrade, more tourism, and more cooperation once this pandemic is over. @TheBlueHouseENG pic.twitter.com/749DFIICcT
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) May 21, 2020
This was the first conversation in history between the presidents of Georgia and South Korea since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992.
Zurabishvili noted Georgia’s good geopolitical and trade location. Moon expressed his readiness to negotiate on a Georgian - South Korean free trade agreement, and to finalise negotiations between civil aviation authorities in order to launch bilateral flights.
Zurabishvili thanked Moon for 70,000 coronavirus tests that Georgia received from South Korea and asked how they managed to hold parliamentary elections on April 15 amid the coronavirus outbreak.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says that when the coronavirus is ‘turning the world upside down’ he ‘cannot think of a better place to be right now than here in Georgia.’Hartzell states that there are no easy answers regarding COVID-19 and that the EU is suffering much from the virus.“Just look at the pictures coming out of Spain and Italy these days. In this context I would like to congratulate the Georgian government and the Georgian politicians for doing what all evidence suggest is the right approach – to act early and to act robustly,” Hartzell said.
Officials from the World Health Organisation gave "positive assessment" to Georgia's efforts for preventing a spread of coronavirus outbreak in the country this week.
Pope Francis spoke with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili by phone and said he will pray for Georgia on May 14 in his prayer to save the word from the pandemic and named Georgia as a country with ‘great spirituality’ adding that the Georgian nation is ‘precious’ to him.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili by phone and praised the measures Georgia has carried out in the fight against the new coronavirus pandemic.
Georgia and Korea have signed an agreement on air traffic, according to which Georgian airlines will be able to operate regular flights to and from Korea's largest international airports, while Korean airlines will be able to operate regular flights at Georgian airports, announces the Ministry of Economy of Georgia.
Georgia will be one of the first countries in the region to start negotiations on a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava announced after the meeting in the Ministry of Economy of the UAE.