Tbilisi forum praises benefits of Georgia-EU-Türkiye trade deal

A forum held in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Friday praised the benefits of the 2018 agreement between Georgia, Türkiye and the European Union for strengthening trade and economic ties between the sides.

Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili noted the benefits of the deal, which allows Georgia-made products that include Turkish raw inputs to be exported to the EU under the Free Trade Agreement as diagonal cumulation, in his address to the forum, which was entitled Trade and Investment Opportunities, Diagonal Cumulation.

Praising the “many years of exceptional cooperation” between the two neighbouring countries, the Minister said the deal, which entered into force in October 2021, was a “clear example” of the countries using each other’s potential “for the well-being of their people”.

Along with Georgian and Turkish officials, the event involved diplomats from EU member states, officials of the United States Agency for International Development and representatives from international financial and trade organisations, the Economy Ministry said.

In its earlier comments, the state body said diagonal cumulation would support further development of textile, furniture manufacture, construction, plastic and steel product sectors as well as paper and cardboard manufacturing.

The agreement on diagonal cumulation does not apply to agricultural produce, as the customs union between the EU and Türkiye does not cover agricultural produce.