Tbilisi Signs Contract with Swiss Company SGS over Georgia-Russia Cargo Deal

Georgia has signed a contract with the Swiss company SGS (Société Générale de Surveillance SA), which will ensure the monitoring of the agreement made between Georgia and Russia in 2011 on cargo movement.

The information was released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Georgia, which says that the final round of negotiations with the Swiss company was held in Bern on December 19.

The MFA says that for practical realization of the agreement, the Russian Federation should also sign the contract with a neutral Swiss company.

Georgia and Russia signed the agreement on the Cargo Monitoring Movement on November 9, 2011, in Geneva, with the participation of Switzerland.

The two countries agreed to involve a neutral company to monitor the movement of goods. The Swiss Confederation was tasked with selecting a neutral private company in consultation with Georgia and the Russian Federation.

The agreement envisages the carrying out of monitoring of cargo movement through three “trade corridors”, two of which run through the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the third one on the Zemo Larsi-Kazbegi border crossing point on the undisputed section of the Georgia-Russia border.

The mechanism’s functions include the gathering and sharing of information, ensuring transparency, data transfer, crime and smuggling prevention, and examining suspicious cargo.

Georgia and Russia decided that the mechanism would entail both an Electronic Data Exchange System (EDES) and International Monitoring System (IMS).

By Thea Morrison

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