On May 12, a Georgian-Israeli business forum entitled “We Build Together”
was held in Tbilisi to celebrate Israels 60th anniversary. A large delegation of
Israeli businessmen visited the Georgian capital for this occasion. 60 Israeli-led investment projects currently in progress in Georgia were presented at the conference.
The investment projects are being carried out in many sectors, including agriculture, technology, tourism, aviation and real estate.
The forum, organized by the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business, and the Georgian National Investment Agency, opened with speeches by the President of the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Minister of Economic Development of Georgia, and the Ambassador of Israel to Georgia.
Lasha Zhvania, former Ambassador to Israel, was one of the first to attract Israeli investors to Georgia: “Current Georgian-Israeli relations themselves define this conferences necessity today. Firstly, it presents the development of the investment environment in Georgia, and familiarizes the investors with the situation here, and the different business projects, and lets them decide where to invest their money. The important thing is that investments in Georgia have increased lately, which strengthens the economy and makes it more attractive for further investment. We hope more Israeli companies invest in Georgia in the future.”
The opening speeches were followed by consultations on legal, banking, financial and audit issues.
Even though Israeli investors are well aware of the current political tensions in Georgia, they remain confident that it will not damage their long-term plans, and they all seem happy to do business with Georgia. As project-leader Moshe Rapaport commented: “All connections between Israel and Georgia are very important for us, we have been here for a year already, and we like to be here because of the good business environment.”
This opinion was seconded by Itsik Moshe, the president of Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business: “We should always be realistic, and what was really the most important at this forum, is the fact that despite recent events, Georgias image remains high internationally. Nearly 100 people are at this forum today, and 30 of them are newcomers who came to Georgia to invest their money.”
Taking into consideration the fact that “Israel is a small country but with a big potential”, as Lasha Zhvania evaluated it, the forum is supposed to be one step forward in developing economic situation in Georgia.
The Georgian Minister of Economic Development, Ekaterine Sharashidze, commented: “This forum is very important for the development of Georgian-Israeli relations, and for the economic development of our country. Hundreds of investments are already made in Georgia from Israel, and todays forum will really be helpful for attracting new investors, and consequently creating new industries and new jobs”.
