After 14-year hiatus, a meeting of Joint Economic Commission was held in Ankara

The meeting of the Joint Economic Commission was held in the Turkish capital, Ankara. 2 weeks ago, the leaders of Georgia and Turkey - Giorgi Gakharia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan - decided to hold a commission meeting. The meeting, which has not convened since September 2005, was attended by representatives of the two countries' economic and social government agencies.

The Commission was co-chaired by the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Natia Turnava and Minister of Customs and Trade of Turkey, Ruhsar Pekcan.

The meeting noted that Turkey is Georgia's number one trading partner, but at the same time, it is important to increase the volume and range of Georgian export products on the Turkish market. It was said at the Commission meeting that trade between countries should be increased.

According to Turnava, negotiations with Turkey on the removal of technical barriers on the products of animal origin are successfully underway in Turkey. In addition, the Minister noted that there is significant potential to increase the volume of exports from Georgia to the EU market. The parties stressed out that finalizing the procedures of the Diagonal Cumulation between EU, Turkey, and Georgia will support Georgian and Turkish businesses to increase joint export to the EU market.

“The enactment of a Diagonal Cumulation between EU, Turkey, and Georgia will boost investments from Turkey in Georgia, support launching joint ventures and encourage the creation of new jobs,” - Turnava said.

According to her the agreement about the diagonal cumulation will increase the range of products exported to the EU market.

The session ended with the signing of a protocol setting out all the main areas of bilateral socio-economic cooperation. Particular emphasis was placed on sectors such as trade, transport, logistics, energy, tourism, and others. The document grants additional possibility to Georgia to increase local manufacture with Turkish raw materials and export these products to the EU through the free trade agreement.

After the signing, Turnava said that a document serves the interests of both countries. Georgian economy minister invited her Turkish counterpart to Georgia.