MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Co-chaired by the Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Mariam Kvrivishvili, and the Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, Laziz Kudratov, the 11th Session of the Georgia-Uzbekistan Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held.

During the meeting, the parties discussed current economic relations between the two countries, prospects for deepening trade and economic potential, as well as issues of cooperation in logistics, transport, investments and tourism.

Vice Prime Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili highlighted a new initiative, stating that Georgia is interested in becoming an integral part of the new China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan transport route.

“I would like to highlight a very important new initiative emphasized by Georgia - we have a great interest in Georgia becoming an integral part of the new China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan transport route and in Georgia continuing to play a key role in connecting countries to European and other markets. We believe that we will achieve very tangible results in this direction, especially in the context of the substantial investments we are making directly in the development of our transport and logistics network. Unprecedented investments and modernization are underway in Georgian Railway so that Georgia can increase its existing cargo throughput from 15 million to 29 million tons by 2029,” – Mariam Kvrivishvili noted.

According to her explanation, the 11th Intergovernmental Economic Commission was very productive, and concrete decisions were made on how to further deepen trade and economic relations between Uzbekistan and Georgia.

“We have very specific goals and, accordingly, a concrete plan. First of all, to increase trade between our countries and boost the export of Georgian products from Georgia. Our goal is for trade turnover between the two countries to reach 1 billion USD in the near future. We also talked extensively about promoting investments. Special emphasis was placed on the transport and logistics sector; the importance of the Anaklia Deep Sea Port not only for our country, but for the region in general and for all countries involved in the context of the Middle Corridor,” – Mariam Kvrivishvili stated.

The Minister noted that attention was also focused on cooperation in the field of tourism between the two countries.

“It was noted that tourism plays a huge role in terms of connectivity between countries and deepening people-to-people relations. Naturally, we will continue close cooperation with the Uzbek side to secure more direct flights and welcome more tourists from this specific country to Georgia,” – Mariam Kvrivishvili added.

The Commission meeting was concluded with the signing of a joint protocol.

From the Georgian side, the Commission meeting was attended by representatives of the Government Administration, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, as well as Georgian Railway.

From the Uzbek side, the work of the Commission was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and other state agencies.

The previous session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.