Georgia's Kumsishvili meets Minister of Economy and Industry of Israel
Georgia’s First Vice-Premier and the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Dimity Kumsishvili met with the Minister of Economy and Industry of Israel, Eli Cohen.
The ministers met on March 26, during Kumsishvili’s official visit to Israel.
Bilateral trade and economic relations and the further development of the cooperation were the key issues discussed at the meeting.
Kumsishvili informed his counterpart about the trends of Georgian economy, the ongoing and implemented reforms and the opportunities that the Free Trade Agreements with the EU, China and other countries create. He also talked about the profit distribution reform that was launched in 2017 and establishes the ground for the private sector development.
He underlined that trade turnover between the countries in 2017 was increased by 31%, while the export volume was increased by 28%. Products exported to Israel from Georgia include juices of fruits and vegetables, beer, wine, mineral waters, nuts and hazelnuts.
It was highlighted that Israel was one of the pioneers of investing in Georgia and today 271 Israel companies are operating in Georgia with total investment volume amounting to $124 million.
Both Ministers highlighted the necessity of enhancing cooperation in such important sectors of economy as maritime transport, logistics, high technologies, start-up facilitation, tourism, etc.
It was also highlighted that Israel holds the 7th position in terms of number of visitors arrived to Georgia. In 2017, compared to the previous year, the increase amounted to 26%.
"We have agreed on the development of our relationship in many directions, including on the increase in trade turnover. We agreed that the trade turnover will achieve $ 1 billion in five years ", Kumsishvili told reporters.
Within the framework of the visit, Georgian Minister also held a meeting with the private sector representatives at the Institute of Export.
Representatives of Israel companies were informed on the economic trend in Georgia, ongoing and scheduled reforms as well as on business and investment climate in the country.
“We offered the Israel companies to establish the ventures in Georgia and benefit from the advantages that the signed Free Trade Agreements provided for the companies producing in our country,” Kumsishvili stated.
The minister said Georgia will share Israel’s experience in the innovative ecosystem field as it is the leading innovative country in the world supporting the innovations itself.
“Cooperation in this field will be very interesting since the youth will be offered specialized educational courses. Several joint IT ventures will also be established,” he added.
By Thea Morrison