John Braeckeveldt, CEO of the European Business Association in Georgia responds to the appointment of Vazil Hudak as a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Foreign Investments. Mr. Braeckeveldt notes that the appointment of Vazil Hudak proofs that the government takes priority in attracting foreign investments in Georgia as they provide jobs and income for Georgia.
“This could bring a boost to the economy however we need to be realistic and acknowledge that attracting foreign investments is not something that can be realized in short term and will need also good public-private dialogue with the existing business community and the creation of a good ecosystem where business can develop in the country”, John Braeckeveldt told BM.GE.
According to the CEO of EBA, Mr. Hudak is an expert in financial institutions and he deeply delivers that Vazil Hudak’s expertise will be surely in attracting funds from financial institutions which are also important to attract FDI. But, he stresses out that just bringing FDI to Georgia is not enough.
“You need to create mechanisms where you can bring FDI and change them into successful businesses operating in Georgia by having the best business environment. For a government it brings yearly income in taxes and more businesses operating in Georgia create jobs and more buying power within the country”, - John Braeckeveldt said.
As the CEO of the European Business Association in Georgia notes, the EBA is actively working on bringing EU investors to Georgia for more than 4 years, representing EU business operating in Georgia towards government institutions and supporting Georgian companies exporting to Europe.
“We provided already many position papers that are online available expressing the issues that need to be worked on. Most important today is more public-private dialogue is needed which should be all inclusive with all stakeholders and we need to reduce bureaucracy in the country which hampers the creation of new investment. Georgia has a disadvantage having a small market so we need to be very creative and find the niche markets, create a fair and competitive business environment that can thrive and can keep on growing in Georgia with special care for SME sector”, - John Braeckeveldt said.
