Georgia Pushes to Attract More Iranian Investment

EghtesadOnline: Georgia is seeking to attract more investments from Iran and has informed Iranian investors about local opportunities offered by its “business-friendly” environment.

News ID: ۷۷۵۶۰۲

22 April 2017

The Georgia-Iran Business Forum was held in Tbilisi on Tuesday, where about 100 companies from both countries were represented.

Georgia’s Economy Minister Giorgi Gakharia opened the forum and said Iran was a country with one of the most “serious economic potential” in the region.

“We hope to attract more investments from Iran. We have discussed specific directions and fields such as production, transit, pharmacy, agriculture, using a free trade regime for creating joint enterprises. These are the directions which have the potential for more active developments,” Gakharia was quoted as saying by Georgian news portal Agenda.ge.

According to Financial Tribune, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held talks with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Janelidze in Tbilisi on Tuesday.

Zarif set off on a tour of Turkmenistan, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan on Sunday. He arrived in Tbilisi on Monday night after paying a one-day visit to Turkmenistan.

According to Janelidze, the number of Iranian investments increased by 90% in Georgia last year.

As an example of successful bilateral cooperation, Janelidze named the Supsa Oil Enterprise project launched last year.

“We have discussed many aspects of cooperation today. I would like to emphasize the commercial-economic field where bilateral trade has increased by 50%, but in general the potential is big and we have agreed to intensively continue working in this respect,” Janelidze was quoted by as saying.

Zarif hailed both countries’ plans for enhancing economic interactions, saying various fields, including transportation, industry, education and cooperation in international bodies, need to be placed high on the agenda.

The Iranian minister announced that Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, whom he met later in the day, is to visit Iran in the coming days at the official invitation of Iranian authorities.