Georgia and South Korea Sign Agreement on Economic Cooperation

Within the framework of the visit of the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development George Kobulia to South Korea, the Government of Georgia and the Government of South Korea have signed an agreement on economic cooperation.

The agreement was signed by Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Genadi Arveladze and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea Lee Tae-oh in Seoul on March 11. The agreement will enter into force in 30 days’ time.

The agreement should encourage more joint projects between South Korea and Georgia in beneficial fields for both parties, including investment, trade, tourism and industry sectors. It should also continue to strengthen economic cooperation, including socio-cultural relations between countries.

South Korea and Georgia will establish a joint commission to effectively implement the treaty and to explore the directions of economic cooperation between the two countries. The Commission will discuss existing bilateral trade-economic relations and possibilities and opportunities for cooperation in different sectors. The agreement with Georgia is aimed at expanding economic cooperation between the two countries, including improving the presence of Korean companies on the Georgian market.

“The agreement is another contributing factor to the growth of foreign trade turnover and the development of trade-economic cooperation. Its enabling will encourage entrepreneurs in terms of penetration of the market and encourage new investment projects” noted the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development George Kobulia after signing the agreement.

The sides also agreed to start negotiations on the agreement regarding the promotion and protection of investment between both countries at a mutually convenient time.

In addition, speaking at the Korean Foreign Ministry, Kobulia underlined the fact that Korea is interested in Georgia as a new tourist destination. For this purpose, there will be 7 direct charter flights between Tbilisi and Seoul in 2019.

At the initiative of the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, officials discussed issues surrounding the fulfillment of direct regular flights between Georgia and Korea were discussed at the meeting.

“Korea is one of the most important tourist destinations for Georgia. We plan to encourage tourists to come into this country as much as possible and offer them new tourist products. More than 13,000 Korean tourists arrived in Georgia in 2018, which is 112 percent higher than the previous year, while in January 2019 the growth became already 27 percent,” said George Kobulia.

By Mariam Merabishvili

Image source: Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia