Economy Minister: Georgia should turn its geographical location into “important opportunity”
He stressed the significance of hosting the Conference amid the existing challenges in the region, adding “at this time, regional cooperation [...] is very important to turn the existing challenges in the region into opportunities and to have more economic progress with greater cooperation”. Photo via Economy Ministry
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Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Thursday said the country should turn its geographical location into “an important opportunity”, highlighting Georgia’s “special role” among the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation member countries.
In his comments to the media on the sidelines of the 22nd Annual CAREC Ministerial Conference in Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi, Davitashvili pointed out the eight landlocked member countries of the organisation, only having access to the sea through Georgia and thus connected to the European Union.
Georgia is the closest and most efficient route to Asian countries”, he added, emphasising the importance of developing the Middle Corridor, a transportation route network connecting China with Europe through the South Caucasus region.
Davitashvili said the Government “has been actively working” with the partner countries in this regard, citing the adoption of a roadmap for the development of the Middle Corridor by Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkey, which aims to “overcome the challenges existing along the way of the corridor”.
One of the important things that Georgia is involved in with CAREC is the simplification of cross-border operations and digitisation of customs operations. Accordingly, there should be fewer barriers on the transport and transit roads, and certainly, all this should be for encouraging trade”, the Economy Minister noted.
He stressed the significance of hosting the Conference amid the existing challenges in the region, adding “at this time, regional cooperation [...] is very important to turn the existing challenges in the region into opportunities and to have more economic progress with greater cooperation”.
The CAREC Ministerial Conference is being hosted in Tbilisi for the first time, with senior officials from countries across central and west Asia and Masatsugu Asakawa, the President of the Asian Development Bank, in attendance.
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Thursday told the 22nd Annual Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference in the country’s capital of Tbilisi member countries of the CAREC represented “very active economic partners” for Georgia.
Masatsugu Asakawa, the President of the Asian Development Bank, on Thursday said the ADB was “ready to continue close cooperation” with Georgia in comments at the Annual Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday highlighted the “immense contribution” of the Asian Development Bank and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Programme to “numerous” projects and events implemented in the country.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday highlighted the country’s economic progress since the Covid pandemic at the Annual Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference, telling the event the national economy had rebounded with a “double-digit” growth of over 10 percent over the past two years.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday addressed the 22nd Annual Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference in the capital city of Tbilisi to highlight Georgia’s “unique” role in contributing to “shared regional prosperity” with its economic development.
Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Guram Guramishvili on Tuesday highlighted the country’s role in the development of the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia, an initiative involving the European Union and states of Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Bulgarian and Romanian ambassadors in Georgia, Vesselin Valkanov and Răzvan Rotundu, on Wednesday highlighted the importance of the Middle Corridor - a transportation route network connecting China with Europe through the South Caucasus region - and vowed support for the initiative.