First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili held a meeting with the President of Iceland, Gudni Jóhannesson. The meeting was held within the framework of the visit of the Icelandic delegation to Georgia. Levan Davitashvili and the President of Iceland took part in the Georgia-Iceland business meeting, where they discussed prospects for deepening cooperation with representatives of the private sector of the two countries.
The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development introduced the general economic situation in the country and current economic indicators of Georgia to the members of the Icelandic delegation. Levan Davitashvili focused on the energy potential of the country and the possibilities of cooperation, including investment partnership, with Iceland.
"Georgia is the leading country in the region in terms of renewable energy. We all know Iceland's substantial experience in the rational use of various energy sources. Georgia, located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, has a unique mix of opportunities, which makes it an attractive place for both business and foreign direct investment" – the Minister of Economy noted.
Levan Davitashvili emphasized that nowadays, Georgia is a country where a flexible and healthy investment environment meets the availability of green energy and free trade throughout the 2,3 billion market worldwide. Davitashvili focused on such important infrastructure projects as the Anaklia Sea Port and the Black Sea Submarine Cable.
Within the framework of the visit of the Icelandic delegation, the First Vice Prime Minister also held a meeting with the Icelandic Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, and discussed the issues of cooperation in several directions with him. According to Levan Davitashvili, Georgia and Iceland already have experience of successful cooperation - Icelandic companies are currently investing in hydropower in Georgia and, as the Minister highlighted, they want to increase their volume of theior investments.
"Our countries have certain similarities and experience in the energy field. We talked about the energy potential of Georgia, not only in the direction of hydro-energy, but also in the direction of other, renewable sources such as sun and wind powers, as well as the use of geothermal energy. Georgia has a certain potential in terms of using geothermal energy, in which Iceland is the leading country. Bringing these technologies to Georgia today will also be very interesting," – Levan Davitashvili highlighted.
The Free Trade Agreement between Georgia and Iceland, as a member country of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), has been in force. The Agreement provides an opportunity for a large part of the products and services produced in Georgia to be placed without tariff barriers on the consumer markets of 14 million people with high purchasing power. In addition, according to the information of the First Vice Prime Minister, it is planned to sign a Memorandum of Cooperation between Georgia and Iceland and an Agreement on Protection and Promotion of Investments.
"Georgia's aspiration to be a diversified and modern economy is in line with Iceland's vision of the future, which is the development of enterprise capabilities in green energy, innovation, tourism and other sectors. We look forward to deepening cooperation between our countries in these areas. Georgia is open for business and we look forward to the opportunities that our partnership will bring us," – the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development stated.
Head of the Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Policy and Sustainable Development of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development Marita Arabidze, Head of the Department of Energy Policy and Investment Projects Jubo Turashvili, Director General of the Oil and Gas Corporation Giorgi Chikovani, Director of the Energy Development Fund Jaba Khmaladze, Head of Electricity Market Operator Kakhaber Keburia, Director General of JSC State Electric System Giorgi Gigineishvili and Enterprise Georgia Agency Deputy Director Tornike Zirakishvili also participated in the meeting.
