Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Monday said his country’s relations with China had entered a “new phase of cooperation” through the establishment of a strategic partnership between them.
In his comments, Davitashvili said the joint communiqué between the two governments, signed on Monday, was a “very important step” in their ties and covered political, economic, social, cultural and educational areas.
He said questions of economic and business partnership covered “all the aspects of interactions” between the states, noting cooperation in investments as well as transport, logistics and communication. The Minister said the ties would allow Georgia to develop its priorities in these directions in the context of its transformation into a transport and logistics hub.
Davitashvili said the communiqué also covered the “important and promising” energy sector, noting Georgia had a “special geostrategic location” that served as a basis for economic development, including through the economic cooperation with China.
He also pointed out China was “one of the most important trade partners” for Georgia, with the potential to become “one of the first” and see increases in both exports and imports between the two countries. He noted Georgia was the only country in the Black Sea region to have free trade agreements with both the European Union and China.
The Minister also said the cooperation between Georgia and China was also “encouraging” in air travel, and added more connections with different cities of China would “directly contribute” to increasing tourist flows and “significantly affecting” the economic welfare of his country.