MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

“The Belt and Road initiative shall bring tangible benefits to all participating countries as it stimulates regional cooperation, development of infrastructure and transportation links between countries and regions,” – First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Dimitry Kumsishvili states in his speech delivered at the Joint PBC-IMF High Level Conference on The Belt and Road Initiative.

The First Vice Prime Minister also highlighted that the initiative also means creation of new jobs, new opportunities for business sector and increased social welfare for all countries engaged in this initiative.

Dimitry Kumsishvili noted that the BRI implementation requires significant amount of investments and more harmonized legislation.

Georgia was among the first range of countries that joined the BRI initiative and has already advanced in this direction. 

“I would like to highlight that the Free Trade Agreement with China is a result of the fact that we joined the BRI initiative. Today, Georgia is one of the main BRI payers, we have hosted the BRI Forum twice in our country and undoubtedly, the interest is very high,” – Dimitry Kumsishvili noted.

First Vice Prime Minister commented that it is essential that the steps undertaken in this direction bring benefit to our citizens through establishing value adding services and product.

“In particular, we mean establishment of logistic centers, which provide new jobs and additional value in our country,” – Kumsishvili said.

First Vice Prime Minister stressed that Georgia fully shares 5 major cooperation priorities of the BRI initiative and welcomes new initiatives that are targeted at strengthening of regional links and facilitation of international transportation and cross-border trade.