Economy Minister says Tbilisi ready to host Silk Road Forum “with honour”

Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Wednesday said the country’s capital Tbilisi was “ready” to host the fourth edition of Tbilisi Silk Forum “with honour”.

The Ministry of Economy cited the official as saying the 2023 edition of the event would be “outstanding due to the great interest of the participants”.

We have the highest-level delegations of prime ministers, vice-prime ministers, and ministers, but very active involvement of business is no less important”, he said.

Davitashvili noted the interest was an “echo of the economic reforms and progress” that the Government had made in Georgia, as well as the success achieved from an economic point of view, and based on the “geopolitical situation”.

He said the role of Georgia as a “reliable partner” that provided connectivity between the Asian and European continents had grown in recent years.

The Minister said he hoped the Forum would be “very successful” and help raise the awareness of the country “even more”. 

We expect that many agreements will be signed within the Forum”, he pointed out.

Tbilisi Forum will run between Thursday and Friday, with high-ranking representatives of governments of European and Asian countries, vice-prime ministers and ministers of economic profile will participate in panel sessions. 

Representatives of the diplomatic corps and international bodies, including financial and donor organisations, will also feature.

Up to 2,000 delegates from 60 countries will attend the Forum to discuss global economic challenges, ways to solve them, and aspects and perspectives of cooperation for connectivity. 

The Ministry of Economy said 10 sessions would be hosted on the first day of the Forum, with day two used for discussion of Georgia's investment opportunities and B2B meetings.

Founded by Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the first edition of the Forum was hosted in Tbilisi in 2015.