Second Day of WEF: Georgian PM Meets with World Leaders, Heads of IFIs
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia is participating in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which is taking place from January 21-24.
Within the framework of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, world leaders, heads of international financial institutions and academics discuss problems, achievements, and future plans in the world of economy.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Forum, the main topic of which is climate change.
On the second day of the forum, the Georgian PM met with Italian business executive and the CEO and General Manager of Enel Group, Francesco Starace, providing him with detailed information on Georgia's favorable investment environment and the opportunities offered to investors, including in the energy sector. He emphasized the potential for the creation of new hydro, wind and solar power plants in Georgia and the need to develop additional generation sources in parallel with economic growth.
As a result of the meeting, it was decided that global leader, multi-national energy company ENEL will send a group to Georgia to examine the energy sector investment opportunities in the country.
That same day, Gakharia also met with CEO of British global communications company OneWeb, Adrian Steckel, who expressed interest in arranging a special station for satellite network services in Georgia that will cover the region. The company positively assessed the investment environment and strategic location of the country.
Gakharia also met with Coca-Cola Vice President Michael Goltzman, who expressed interest in investing in Georgia. "Coca-Cola is interested in expanding production in the region and continues to invest in Georgia," Goltzman stated.
Gakharia then met with President of Latvia, Egils Levits, and together they spoke of relations between the two countries and future cooperation opportunities.
The Georgian PM also met with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, where he discussed cooperation between their two countries in the process of European integration, as well as economic relations.
Gakharia met Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec and thanked him for his support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, before going on to talk about their economic relations and expressing willingness to further develop trade relations and strengthen Georgian-Slovenian business contacts.
The Georgian Prime Minister later had a meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, with whom discussions focused on the strategic partnership between Georgia and Azerbaijan and transport and energy projects of regional importance being jointly implemented by the two countries, as well as issues on the agenda of bilateral relations. The Prime Minister and the President agreed that intensive communication between them will continue in the future.
On the first day of the World Economic Forum, Gakharia met with EBRD First Vice President Jurgen Rigterink and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov to discuss economic relations and strengthening economic ties.
In addition, the head of government attended the presentation of young Georgian startuppers. Within the Davos World Economic Forum, Georgian startup 'Vault Wines' presented the Wine Authentication and Winemaking Assets Management program, which won the incubator contest of leading Swiss foundation CVVC and was funded with $125.000.
The Prime Minister congratulated the young entrepreneurs on their success and emphasized the importance of entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas in the development of the country.
By Ana Dumbadze
Related Story: The Success of Georgian Startup Vault Wines in Davos, Encouraged by PM Gakharia