MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Another session of the Economic, Trade and Energy Working Group (EWG) of the US-Georgia Strategic Partnership Charter Commission was opened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Genadi Arveladze, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Davit Zalkaliani, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brian McFeeters, USAID Assistant Administrator Brock D. Bierman and Millennium Challenge Corporation Managing Direction Katerina Ntep co-chaired the session. Deputy Ministers of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Ekaterine Mikabadze and Giorgi Chikovani also participated in the meeting.

At the workshop, the parties will consider such important issues as the implementation of the economic reforms package by the Government of Georgia, improvement of the business environment in Georgia, improvement of the regulations for various branches of economy and improvement of the labor legislation. Development of the competitive workforce in terms of the current market demands and the US support in this regard will also be the part of the discussion. The prospects for increasing the bilateral trade and investment potential, including through the commercial diplomacy, will be discussed as well.

The meeting will focus on the ways of strengthening of cooperation between Georgia and the US in terms of trade, investment, innovation and entrepreneurship as well as on the plans for implementing trade missions in 2018.

Discussions will also cover such important issue as the next round of the high-level trade and investment dialogue between the two countries (HLTID), which is scheduled to be held in the United States this April. Within the framework of the HLTID, the parties will discuss the prospect of the further deepening of bilateral trade and investment cooperation, including the implementation of relevant initiatives and agreements.

The workshop will also focus on the implementation of the first phase of the Anaklia Deepwater Port construction and the strengthening of the country’s energy security, including Georgia’s involvement in the regional projects. Participants will also talk about the deepening of bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture.