What economic issues are on the agenda for the Georgian delegation's visit to Brussels?
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava said that the Georgian delegation will focus on deepening trade ties with the EU. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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A Georgian delegation headed by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has left for Brussels, Belgium this morning to participate in the 6th EU-Georgia Association Committee meeting where along with political issues, economic ones will also be discussed.
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava said that the Georgian delegation will focus on deepening trade ties with the EU.
First of all, the main important issue will be Black Sea outbound routes and our better connections with European ports. We still have some ferry routes today, but that is not really enough to do better trade with the EU, which is our largest trading partner today", said Turnava.
She said that the second issue which will be discussed in Brussels is local companies how to better conquer the EU market, how to select new product groups for it and enter the EU market easier.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, along with the EU ambassador to Georgia and three ministers have left for Brussels earlier today to attend the sixth meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Council.
The European Union has allowed the importation of pet food from Georgia to the EU.
Exports from Georgia to the EU increased by 13 per cent in 2019 compared to last year and reached $825.7 million, while imports decreased 7.4 per cent and amounted to $2.32 billion, show preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia. The share of exports to EU countries made for 21.9 per cent of total exports, while the share of imports constituted 25.6 per cent of total imports.
Trade turnover between Georgia and EU increased by 17.7% in comparison to 2017 and reached $3.35 billion in 2018, much in part thanks to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement with the EU.
The European Union pledges full support for boosting ferry traffic between Georgian-Bulgarian-Romanian and Ukrainian ports, says Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava.
Georgia and the European Union are discussing the possibility of laying a high voltage transmission line along Georgia's Black Sea seabed to connect Georgia and EU energy systems, announces Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava.
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava has expressed hope that in the nearest future it will be possible to start exporting products from Georgian fisheries to European markets.