Italian businessmen charmed by potential of Georgia

Prime Minister of Georgia, Nika Gilauri held business meetings with Italian authorities during his working visit to Italy on April 17-19. The Georgian PM introduced the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini and the local businessmen to the Georgian business environment. A presentation on Georgian economy caused great interest among the Italian business representatives who expressed their interest in Georgia. “Italians had a great desire to visit Georgia, familiarize themselves with the country and invest in different fields,” PM said after the meeting.

Several companies which are ready to sign contracts will soon arrive in the country. Their main targets will be the energy sector, infrastructural projects and agriculture. “Let’s wait for the results,” Gilauri said hoping that Italian business and private sector would have more interest in the Georgian investment environment. Having met Giovanni Castellaneta, President of Italian Export Credit Insurance and Financial Services Group SACE, the Georgian PM spoke of the importance of economical cooperation with SACE investment institute oriented on carrying out serious investments.

Gilauri raised several new initiatives at the meeting with the Italian Minister of Economy. One of them was the establishment of direct flights between Tbilisi and Rome. “The Italian side expressed their interest in this project and I hope it will soon be taken into consideration,” PM told the media. It means that Italy will have 2 or 3 direct flights a week to the Georgian capital. Moreover the sides also discussed marine cooperation between Trieste – city and seaport in northeastern Italy and Poti – city in the eastern Black Sea coast in the west of Georgia. “This is also a very interesting project which would ensure distribution of European cargo to Asia through this route. This would attract additional cargo to Georgia and create new jobs and income for the country,” Gilauri stated.