Georgia-Italy Business Forum takes place in Tbilisi

Georgia-Italy Business Forum was held in Holiday Inn, Tbilisi on July 4. The event focused on several strategically essential fields for the development of Georgian economies, such as infrastructure, construction and engineering fields, energy, and urban development.

The Business Forum represents another excellent opportunity for strengthening private sector cooperation, promoting Italian companies in the Georgian market, and strengthening the economic relationship between Italy and Georgia.

The forum was attended by Italy’s Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (ITA-ICE), SACE-SIMEST (State Organization for Insurance and Financial Services for Internationalization of Business), Engineering, Architectural and Technical-Economic Consulting Organizations Association (OICE), National Institute of Construction Companies Association (ANCE), Electronic and Electrical companies National Federation (ANIE) and up to 30 leading Italian companies.

From Georgia, more than 100 enterprises, agencies, public, and private companies participated in the forum.

The event was also attended by the Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Maya Tskitishvili, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Natia Turnava and Italian Ambassador to Georgia, H.E. Mr. Antonio Bartoli.

In her welcoming speech, the Minister of Economy talked about the importance of bilateral trade-economic relations and noted that the potential of deepening these relations is very high.

As Turnava said, if you look at Georgia as a country with a population of only 3.7-million people, “you might not think about it as a profitable market. But, if you look at Georgia as a regional hub, then the situation becomes very different. We see Georgia as an entryway for not only the market of South Caucasus, but also for Central Asia, the European Union, and, the Western and Eastern markets at large.”

According to the Minister, Georgia has recently received $167 million of Italian investments in different sectors of the economy. “I am glad that the share of Italian companies in the Georgian market is constantly growing, and we now have successful Italian companies which have invested in Georgia,” noted Turnava.

The Minister also highlighted that investors could benefit from access to the market of 2,3 billion without the customs tariff. This opportunity is created through The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) and, also, free trade agreements with China (including Hong Kong), the countries of EFTA and CIS, Ukraine and Turkey.

The Vice Prime Minister also talked about the importance of such forums. As Tskitishvili said, showing “our views to the Italian companies is very important” for both sides.

The Business Forum was organized by Italian Embassy, Italy’s Foreign Trade Promotion Agency, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, Enterprise Georgia, and Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.