MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

On November 25, the Georgia-Japan Business Forum was held at the Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace Hotel. Representatives of about 40 Japanese and over 100 Georgian companies attended the business forum.

The forum was co-organized by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Infrastructure of Georgia, the Embassy of Japan in Georgia, the Enterprise Georgia Agency, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JAICA), the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Georgian Chamber Of Commerce and Industry.

The Forum was welcomed by the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Nikoloz Alavidze, the Deputy Foreign Minister, Aleksandre Khvtisiashvili and the Japanese Ambassador to Georgia, Tadaharu Uehara.

“We have opened the fifth business forum today. More Japanese companies are involved in it, which makes us very happy. We can offer Japanese companies one of the most favorable business and tax environments in the world, a steadily growing economy, the opportunity to use free trade agreements with the European Union, Turkey, Ukraine and other countries, as well as the opportunities offered by the Georgian government to international investors. We are open to cooperate with Japanese business. I hope that the business forum will become the beginning of further fruitful cooperation with the business circles of Georgia and Japan,” - Nikoloz Alavidze, the Deputy Minister of Economy said. 

In his welcoming speech, the Japanese Ambassador to Georgia, Tadaharu Uehara, emphasized that “more Japanese companies have participated in this year's business forum than before”. He said this is proof that Japanese companies are interested in Georgia's business opportunities.

“I hope that more Japanese companies will enter the Georgian market and this will create more jobs. This will also help Georgian companies increase productivity and quality, which will make them more competitive compared to other international companies,” - Japanese Ambassador to Georgia, Tadaharu Uehara, noted. 

Mikheil Khidureli, the Head of LEPL Produce in Georgia of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, and Giorgi Danelia, the Deputy Director General of the Co-Investment Forum, gave presentations on Georgia's investment opportunities at the forum. They also focused on the opportunities for doing business and risk management in Georgia.

The Forum ended with B2B meeting where Georgian and Japanese business representatives discussed the opportunities for future cooperation with their potential partners.