Georgian-Swiss Parliamentary Friendship Group & Businessmen Meeting Held
On April 4, the Swiss Ambassador to Georgia, H.E. Lukas Beglinger, hosted the renewed Georgian-Swiss Parliamentary Friendship Group, representatives of the Swiss-Georgian Business Association, businessmen and media representatives, at his Tbilisi residence in order to further cement relations between the two sides, and to celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“This is the first such reception for the Georgian-Swiss Parliamentary Friendship Group, and its 36 parliamentarians show well how important relations are between our countries,” the Ambassador said. “It is also an occasion to reflect upon those 25 years of diplomatic relations, though, of course, those relations go beyond diplomatic contacts and also involve economic relations, something which we hope to enhance. We see a positive trend already in the inauguration this week of more train wagons from Switzerland brought to Georgia”.
Since the signing of the free trade agree- ment with the EFTA in June 2016, hopes for increased trade between Georgia and Switzerland are high. Switzerland is one of the four EFTA member countries and now offers visa-free opportunities for businessmen hoping to take advantage of what the country has to teach them. “The EFTA agreement opens a lot of opportunities, especially in the field of agribusiness,” said Mikheil Mikeladze, President of the Georgian-Swiss Business Association, an organization which aims to promote economic relations between the two countries.
“There’s a lot to do and Switzerland has a lot to offer,” the Ambassador extolled. “Vocational education is also a big issue in Georgia- and Switzerland has one of the best systems in the world, one which many countries, even strong industrialized countries, look to. We want to share this experience. You need a strong education system in order to develop successfully”. The Ambassador then thanked those, such as Mikeladze, who have contributed to developing Swiss-Georgian trade and economic agreements.
“This reception provides a very interesting format for us to meet and discuss our partnership possibilities,” said Eka Beselia, MP and Chief of the Friendship Group. “Georgia and Switzerland have a successful 25 years of diplomatic relations to celebrate and the new visa-free regime offers a great opportunity for our citizens to expand on this”.
“We also greatly value the Swiss peace mission mandate,” Beselia added, pointing to the fact that, since 2009, Switzerland has been working as a mediator between Georgia and Russia.
The Friendship Group was established in 2013 with co-chairs from the Swiss side. “With already nine agreements between Georgia and Switzerland, close relations between our two parliaments are one of the most important features on our agenda. We want to share experiences. In 2016, Georgia welcomed 4,700 Swiss tourists, up 7% from the previous year,” Beselia told us.
Tourism is another top priority for the government and bilateral cooperation with Switzerland is considered particularly important in particular for the future development of mountain tourism, involving Swiss professionals, especially in the regions. The first step in this direction was the meeting between the Georgian PM and the Swiss President at the 2016 Davos Economic Forum, and was continued last week with the Mountain Tourism Conference (see page 3).
The reception was concluded by giving time for guests to meet over a delicious buffet of European and Asian food.
Katie Ruth Davies