Georgia, Czech Republic sign deal on trade, economic relations
Deputy Minister of Economy Genadi Arveladze, who signed the deal from the Georgian side, said the Government was looking forward to intensifying and strengthening the ties with the Czech Republic. Photo: Georgian Economy Ministry
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Georgia and the Czech Republic have signed an agreement on priority directions in trade and economic relations between the two countries, the Georgian Economy Ministry announced on Monday.
The agreement was revealed during the 6th Session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, where questions of deepening relations in trade, investment, energy, transport, tourism, agriculture and other priority areas were discussed.
Deputy Minister of Economy Genadi Arveladze, who signed the deal from the Georgian side, said the Government was looking forward to intensifying and strengthening the ties with the Czech Republic.
Czech Republic is one of the top three investor countries in Georgia, with its investments in the country's energy sector exceeding $82 million - a fact that was also noted during the session, the Ministry said.
Arveladze pointed to the increase of bilateral trade turnover by 31 percent and exports by three percent in 2021, adding there was “untapped” and “unexplored” potential in relations between the sides. Arveladze also welcomed the opening of the CzechTrade office in Tbilisi, calling the agency an “important player” in the promotion and development of trade and investment cooperation.
Levan Davitashvili, Georgian Economy Minister who met Miloš Vystrčil, the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic earlier today, said the regional office would further facilitate the development of trade relations. Photo: Georgian Economy Ministry
During the meeting, the sides also highlighted the “historic decision” of Georgia to apply for European Union membership in March, with Davitashvili calling it a “great responsibility.”
The Czech Republic is one of the countries that has consistently welcomed Georgia's European integration and NATO membership [...] this support is important as the Czech Republic becomes the country holding the EU presidency this year,” Davitashvili said.
The meeting between high officials also involved a discussion of prospects in further deepening cooperation in energy, mechanical engineering, tourism, agriculture, transport and healthcare, the Economy Ministry said.
Additionally, Georgian-Czech business forums have been scheduled to be held in the capital of Tbilisi and the Black Sea coastal city of Batumi, with the events set to involve 30 entrepreneurs from the Czech Republic.
Miloš Vystrčil, the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, on Monday said the European Union's response to the Russian occupation of Georgia’s Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region and its annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea has been “weak”, and called for “unity” within the Union over the matters.
The experience and support of the Czech Republic for Georgia’s European integration process will be especially valuable for the country, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili said on Monday following a meeting with Miloš Vystrčil, the President of the Czech Senate.
Miloš Vystrčil, the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, is on a visit to Georgia for a series of meetings in the country, with the official arriving on Sunday with a delegation.
Georgia's application for European Union membership, and the ongoing procedures for the country completing the relevant questionnaire were discussed on Thursday in Prague in a meeting between the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and the Czech Minister for European Affairs Mikulas Bek.
Under the Czech Republic’s Presidency of the European Union, Georgia is “going through an important stage” of its European integration, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili said following his meeting with Miloš Vystrčil, the President of the Czech Senate, in Tbilisi on Tuesday.
Georgia's air navigation service provider Sakaeronavigatsia and Czech company ALES have signed an agreement on updating and configuring a backup system used at Georgian airports, the Economy Ministry announced on Tuesday.
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Bilateral trade relations between Georgia and Japan and the two countries’ cooperation in the fields of energy, telecommunications, transport and more were discussed by the Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili and Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Honda Taro on Wednesday.
Ilia Darchiashvili, the Georgian Foreign Minister and Peter Siarto, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary gave “high evaluation” to the completion of Georgia's European Union membership questionnaire, handed over by the country ahead of schedule this week.
Georgian officials and the European Free Trade Association held the first meeting of their Joint Committee in Geneva on Saturday to discuss the Free Trade Agreement between the two sides.
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Bilateral relations between Georgia and the Czech Republic and Georgia’s prospects for European integration were discussed on Thursday in a meeting between foreign minister Ilia Darchiashvili and his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky.
Türkiye ($2.55 billion), Russia ($2.20 billion) and China ($1.67 billion) were the top trading partners of Georgia in its total external trade turnover in January-November 2022, preliminary data from the national statistics office of Georgia show.
Georgian external trade turnover amounted to $19.04 billion in 2022, posting a 32.8 percent increase year-on-year, the Georgian National Statistics Office revealed on Friday.
Turkey ($2.80 billion), Russia ($2.48 billion) and China ($1.86 billion) were the top trading partners of Georgia in its total external trade turnover in 2022, preliminary data from the National Statistics office of Georgia show.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Thea Maisuradze, the country’s newly appointed Ambassador to the Czech Republic, on Tuesday reviewed bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Relations between Georgia and the Czech Republic, and prospects of future cooperation were discussed on Monday in a meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Petr Kubernát, the new Czech Ambassador to the country.