MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Mariam Kvrivishvili, held a meeting with the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy of Greece, Vasilis Kikilias, within the framework of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) Assembly held in London.

Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Tamar Ioseliani also participated in the meeting. The parties highlighted the multi-year successful cooperation between Georgia and Greece in the maritime field.

“Greece is our important and reliable partner in the maritime field. We have been actively cooperating for years, including in the direction of employing highly qualified personnel on ships owned by Greek ship owners. However, it must be noted that there is even greater potential for cooperation in various directions; today my colleague and I agreed that we will work actively in this regard” – Mariam Kvrivishvili stated.

It is noteworthy that the agreement “On Merchant Shipping between the Government of Georgia and the Government of the Hellenic Republic” has been in force since April 10, 1997. Furthermore, on May 5, 2014, a bilateral memorandum was signed between the countries regarding the recognition of certificates of competency for seafarers, which promotes the employment of Georgian seafarers on ships flying the Greek flag. The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development thanked the Greek side for the attention shown by Greek ship owners regarding the employment and social security of Georgian seafarers.

During the meeting between Mariam Kvrivishvili and Vasilis Kikilias, the conversation also touched upon the cooperation of the Georgian and Greek government delegations regarding various important issues within the framework of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO). It was noted that Georgia has implemented 100% of the EU regulations undertaken by the Association Agreement in the field of maritime transport.