MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

As part of his working visit to Austria, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Genadi Arveladze, met with the leadership of the major Austrian energy company Verbund. Genadi Arveladze introduced the Austrian business representatives to the trends in Georgia's energy sector, the investment environment, and mechanisms for protecting foreign capital. According to Genadi Arveladze, the company is interested in studying the Georgian market.  

"The company is interested in increasing and expanding its operations in the international arena, including Georgia and the Transcaucasian region, which is one of their interests. They consider Georgia as one of the important countries connecting the Asian and European markets. During the meeting, we emphasized the importance of a new strategic project, such as the Black Sea submarine electric cable, which will be one of the important connecting lines for the transit of green electricity produced in the region to the EU market" –the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development commented.

It is noteworthy that Verbund expressed a desire to conduct a first exploratory visit to Georgia in May-June to familiarize themselves with Georgia's energy sector and its capabilities. According to Achim Kaspar, a member of the company's Supervisory Board, the company is informed about Georgia as a country rich in hydro resources, and he speaks about the prospects of cooperation in introducing Austrian technologies in Georgia in the future.   

"I am very pleased with the meeting with the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. We know that Georgia, like Austria, is largely a hydropower country. In Austria, we have 8000 megawatts of installed capacity from Verbund, so we are very interested in fruitful discussions with your country and, perhaps, in the future, we will cooperate in the direction of hydropower consulting. We are planning reservoir and river-type power plants worldwide, so this could be a very good partnership for introducing Austrian technologies in Georgia" – Achim Kaspar said.   

Furthermore, the Verbund representative positively assesses the Georgian government's plans, which aim to support investors in the direction of energy development. In his assessment, this is an important initiative that will encourage foreign investors to operate in Georgia.

As Genadi Arveladze noted, Georgia welcomes cooperation with Austrian energy companies. The Deputy Minister expressed hope that Austrian capital will be more represented in the country's energy market.   

"It is important for us that the existing electricity infrastructure is updated and modernized, as this will increase the efficiency and sustainability of electricity production and supply. In this regard, Verbund's experience and the transfer and implementation of their technologies in Georgia are very important" – the Deputy Minister said.