The FINANCIAL — First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Dimityr Kumsishvili, within the framework of the official visit to Israel, had a meeting with the Minister of Economy and Industry of the country, Eli Cohen.
Bilateral trade and economic relations and main direction of the further development of the cooperation were discussed by the colleagues and it was highlighted that the recently held high-rank official visits clearly illustrate the huge interest of both countries to further expand the cooperation between Georgia and Israel. Activities of the Mashav, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, were given the most positive evaluation. The Mashav shares Israel’s experience and modern technologies used in such sectors as agriculture, healthcare, education, high technologies, etc.
First Vice Prime Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili discussed in details the trends of Georgian economy, the on-going 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. As Dimitry Kumsishvili stated, the benefits of the implemented reform reflected in the international rankings. For instance, Georgia is on the 9th position among 190 countries in the WB Doing Business ranking.
Talking about the statistics that illustrates the dynamics of the bilateral relations, Dimitry Kumsishvili highlighted that despite the impressive numbers, the prospects for further development are vast. Trade turn-over 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.
Georgia’s investment opportunities were also covered during the meeting. 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 USD, according to Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.
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. 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%.
Georgian and Israel Ministers confirmed the readiness of the two countries to further deepen the cooperation.
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