The FINANCIAL — Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Genadi Arveladze delivered a speech at the Panel organized by the Belt & Road in Tbilisi on Promotion of Trade within the framework of One Belt, One Road Initiatives.
The Deputy Minister talked about the removal of barriers in the field of trade as well as free trade agreements with different countries, according to Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.
Genadi Arveladze stated that the scales of the Belt & Road have been increased compared to the previous years: “This project is implemented under the name of One Belt, One Road Initiatives. We shall focus on such important issues as energy, transport and trade in those countries, which participate in the project. Besides, discussions and meetings with business representatives, where investment opportunities will be discussed, is of high importance as well.”
Genadi Arveladze introduced the participants of the panel the Georgian trade policy and noted that Georgia claims to have a liberal trade policy based on free trade agreements. “We have already signed the agreement with the European Union and the Prime Minister of Georgia spoke about this. We also have bilateral agreements with Turkey and CIS countries. As it was announced today, Free Trade Agreement will be launched with China in January 1, 2018 as well,”- the Deputy Minister stated. According to Genadi Arveladze, Georgia boasts with its liberal tax system as well.
“Since the elimination of barriers leads to emergence of new opportunities for promoting the international trade, today’s meeting is especially important for private sectors. We intend to develop trade relations at international level. Hence, our goal is to increase competitiveness through the economic integration with One Belt, One Road Initiatives countries,” – Genadi Arveladze commented.
The Deputy Minister also emphasized the importance of Georgia as a transit country and highlighted the issues related to the development of infrastructure: “Development of our infrastructure is one of the most important goals since we are unable to trade without it. We have a great ambition, and as our government declared, we have made serious investments in this direction.”
In his speech, the Deputy Minister dwelt upon the significance of the development of e-commerce: “We need to develop e-commerce and customs systems, otherwise we shall not succeed and thus, we are unable to integrate our economy. It refers to a harmonization of systems and especially customs management systems, without which there will be no quick transit available. In this regard, Georgia restricts its border wait times to just 7 minutes, which is highly advantageous for the promotion of trade,” – Genadi Arveladze commented.
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