MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

The first round of negotiations on Agreement on Economic Partnership between Georgia and the Republic of Korea was opened in Tbilisi. The Agreement covers issues such as trade in goods and services, rules of origin, customs procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade and other areas of economic cooperation such as transport, energy and investment.

Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Genadi Arveladze leads the group of negotiators from Georgia, and the Director General for FTA Negotiations of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Chang Sung-gil heads the delegation from the Republic of Korea.

As the Deputy Minister Genadi Arveladze noted, the opening of negotiations was preceded by many years of intensive work with the Republic of Korea, and a study on the feasibility of a Free Trade Agreement was prepared. The results of the study demonstrated that the signing of the agreement will be mutually beneficial for both parties.

"The agreement will have a positive impact on bilateral trade and encourage Korean and international businessmen to invest in Georgia. According to the data of the years 1997-2022, over 211 million USD were invested in the economy of Georgia from the Republic of Korea. As a result of the Agreement, this figure will significantly increase. "At the same time, South Korea is a priority market for Georgian exporters which is a market of more than 60 million customers with high purchasing power," – Genadi Arveladze said and added, that in line with the bilateral trade, cooperation between the countries in the tourism sector is characterized by growing dynamics - in 2023, compared to the same period of the previous year, by 191% more tourists from the Republic of Korea visited Georgia.

As the Deputy Minister noted, the embassy of the Republic of Korea will be opened in Georgia in the near future, which will further encourage the relations between the two countries, including in the trade and economic direction.

"I am sure that the signing of the economic partnership agreement will contribute to the development of bilateral relations not only in the economic direction. Many Koreans are interested in Georgia and this will be a good opportunity to get to know Georgia better. The agreement will encourage both tourists and businessmen to visit Georgia. The Republic of Korea is looking for a regional hub in the Caucasus region, so the signing of the free trade agreement will be beneficial for both countries," – Chang Sung-gil, the Head of the delegation of the Republic of Korea.

It should be noted that in order to promote economic, trade and investment relations between Georgia and the Republic of Korea, the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Genadi Arveladze and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea signed a joint agreement on the start of negotiations on November 2, 2023 in Seoul.