2017-01-23
On January 18-20, Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili attended the World Economic Forum in Davos. With responsible Leadership as its slogan, this year's forum put together global political leaders and almost 1,000 large companies and organizations from 50 countries. The Georgian delegation included Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Giorgi Gakharia, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze, and Head of Georgia's Co-Investment Fund Giorgi Bachiashvili.
The impact of political and infrastructural investments under the New Silk Road on economic growth and harmonization between Europe and Asia was the main issue discussed at the Silk Road Effect Session of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Prime Minister of Georgia addressed the participants of the session.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili emphasized the importance of Georgia's engagement in the One Belt-One Road project initiative by the President of China. The project, according to the Prime Minister, is a great opportunity for ensuring development in its participant states.
"It is a network of different alternatives, and each of them is important to growth healthy and have healthy economy in Eurasia. This is about competition and cooperation at the same time. It is more about cooperation, however. As mentioned by President Aliyev, the Silk Road brings enormous opportunities, but there are certain prerequisites in order to get the most of it in order to leverage on the existing potential. First of all, it is, of course, infrastructure. Second is stability across countries. This is about cooperation, cross-border procedures, and unification of tariff systems. Of course, this is about political cooperation and has multifold dimensions," the Prime Minister stated.
According to the Prime Minister, Georgia has already signed cooperation agreements with its partner states. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad project is nearing completion, being an important part of the Silk Road going through Georgia to Azerbaijan and Turkey.
The session, which was dedicated to the opportunities offered by the New Silk Road, was attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.
We see Georgia as a stabilizing force in the region, President Doris Leuthard of the Swiss Confederation stated during a meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.
During the meeting held as part of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the parties discussed core issues of the friendly relations and partnership between Georgia and the Swiss Confederation.
The discussion involved the growing cooperation potential in various directions, and the importance of the signing of the agreement between Georgia and EFTA was emphasized. Special attention was paid to the bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade and economy, tourism, and education, and the importance of sharing Swiss experience in developing mountainous regions.
The President of the Swiss Confederation took great interest in the Georgian Government's four-point reform agenda. The dialogue also involved Georgia's education reform seeking to advance professional education.
During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. The parties discussed strategic issues pertaining to the relations between the two countries.
It was emphasized during the meeting that Georgia considers Ukraine its regional partner and is committed to deeper political, trade, economic, cultural, tourism, and other directions of cooperation.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Petro Poroshenko discussed European integration and visa liberalization as top priority issues for Georgia and Ukraine, expressing hope that Georgian and Ukrainian citizens will enjoy short-term visa-free travel in the EU as early as 2017.
It was emphasized at the meeting that 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The parties discussed a plan of different events in this format.
During the conversation, the leaders of the two countries reiterated their support of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia and Ukraine.
Core issues of Georgia-Croatia relations were discussed at a meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Prime Minister Anrej Plenkovic of Coratia. The meeting was held during the World Economic Forum in Davos. The parties emphasized the current dynamics of the political, cultural, and security cooperation between the two countries. Special attention was paid to prospects of deeper trade and economic relations and a need for their further development. Giorgi Kvirikashvili described to his counterpart Georgia's investment potential. According to him, the Government of Georgia offers investors a special state program focusing, through financial and other tools, on supporting the development of entrepreneurship.
The discussion also involved prospects of deeper tourism cooperation and the importance of sharing Croatian experience in this direction.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili held a meeting with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia. The parties discussed key issues pertaining to the relations between the two countries and emphasized the importance of furthering cooperation in different directions. Special attention was paid the economic and tourism potential and prospects of deeper cooperation in the fields of innovation and technology. The Prime Ministers also discussed the process of European integration and emphasized Georgia's progress on this path. According to Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia, as an EU-aspirant country, is supportive of Georgia's EU integration, and is willing to cooperate with Georgia and share experience.
The discussion at the meeting also involved the state of affairs in the region and the grievous human rights situation in Georgia's occupied territories.
Increasing investments in Georgia, incentives for the private sector, and prospects of developing business environment were the key issues discussed at a meeting between EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti and Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The meeting was held during the World Economic Forum in Davos. The parties discussed the role of EBRD in the development of Georgia's economy and the ongoing EBRD investments in Georgia. It was emphasized that, in 2016, EBRD invested a record-breaking amount in Georgia, about 250 million euro.
The Georgian Government's reform agenda, and spatial planning as one of its components, was one of the main topics of the meeting. According to Suma Chakrabarti, EBRD supports Georgia's ongoing reforms and plans to increase its investments and financial assistance.
During the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Prime Minister of Georgia held a series of bilateral meetings. Giorgi Kvirikashvili held met with Robert Dudley, CEO of British Petroleum, one of the world's energy giants. The parties discussed Georgia's ongoing projects and prospects of cooperation. During the meeting, the importance of South Caucasus Pipeline expansion (SCPx) under the second phase of the Shah Deniz project was emphasized, which involves expanding the pipeline capacity to transport 16 billion cubic meters of additional gas to European countries every year.
The parties commended the 20-year successful cooperation between BP and Georgia, with BP as one of the largest foreign investors in the country. The parties expressed hope that, given Georgia's investment opportunities, more British investments will be made in the country.
Georgia is a success story, a regional leader in licensed program use, development of innovations, and protection of intellectual rights, multinational technology company Microsoft's Vice President Toni Townes-Whitley stated during a meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. According to her, Microsoft is considering different directions for deeper cooperation with Georgia. Giorgi Kvirikashvili familiarized the Vice President of Microsoft with the Government's four-point reform agenda, with the promotion of startups and use of modern technology and innovations in business development. According to the Head of Georgian Government, the cooperation between Microsoft and the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency is very important in this regard.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili had a meeting with Adecco Group's Chairman Rolf Dorig and introduced him to Georgia's investment environment. Special emphasis during the meeting was placed on Georgia's strategically important location and liberal taxes, some of the lowest in Europe, which makes the country especially attractive for investors.
The discussion also involved the Georgian Government's reform agenda. According to Rolf Dorig, his international company is willing to assist Georgia in the development of its sector of education through sharing its experience and improving business capacities.
Japanese Denso, a leading global automotive components manufacturer that plans to open a plant in Europe, will investigate Georgia's opportunities-this statement was made during a meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Denso CEO for Europe Masato Nakagawa. The parties discussed Georgia's business opportunities and the competitive environment offered by the country to investors.
Climate change and energy security were some of the issues discussed by Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Anders Runevad, CEO at Vestas Wind Systems, a leading global manufacturer of wind turbines. The meeting was held at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The parties discussed Georgia's hydropower potential and prospects of producing renewable energy, also emphasizing the importance of investing in renewable energy projects.
According to Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Georgia, as a reliable transit country and a regional hub, has very impressive resources of almost all renewable energy sources (hydro, solar, and wind). According to him, the Kartli 1 wind farm (20.7 MW capacity) is already operating in Georgia.
During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili had a meeting with Gingko Bioworks CEO Jason Kelly. The discussion involved Georgia's biotechnology potential and prospects of enhancing Gingko Bioworks presence in Georgia. According to the Prime Minister, the Georgian Government's reform agenda, among other directions, includes the development of innovative economy, which is expected to be a driving force of rapid economic development.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the importance of academic-private sectoral cooperation and issues related to commercializing innovative products.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili had a meeting with Ebru Ozdemir, the Chairperson of Limak, one of the larger Turkish companies. The discussion involved Georgia's investment potential, and the opportunities offered by Georgia to investors were emphasized. One of the main topics of the meeting was tourism development in Georgia. It was stated that Georgia is an attractive destination, as evidenced by the growing numbers of visitors. In this context, the dialogue also touched on the importance of the implementation of planned infrastructural projects.