Aimed at stimulating the interests of French investors, and in the framework of French Week, the exhibition of French companies in Agribusiness, Tourism, Transport, Energy and Durable Development sectors will be held June 21-24 in Tbilisi. This according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of France - Georgia (CCIFG), which is an organization dedicated to promoting French-Georgian business relations.

At the 7th Annual General Assembly on March 23, CCIFG described the past year as a success and presented an action plan for 2012. “In 2011, CCIFG implemented several activities to develop the successful business ties that exist between Georgia and France,” Antoine Bardon, the President of CCIFG, said at the assembly in the presence of CCIFG members, newly-appointed Ambassador of France, Renaud Salins, the Consul of France, Gerard Henrio, the Presidents of the French Chambers of Commerce and Industry of East-Central Europe and other high ranking guests.

“By year’s end, CCIFG managed to become a member of the Union of French Chambers of Commerce and Industry Abroad (UCCIFE) - the largest private network of French companies in the world which increased the recognition of CCIFG in the world,” Antoine Bardon added.

During the meeting the assembly elected three Board members including Jean Louis Clary, the General Manager of “MAF Carrefour”, hypermarket chain worldwide.

Natia Shavdia, the Director of Primamedi, the official distribution company of bioMйrieux, a world leader in the field of in-vitro diagnostics for over 45 years is the member of CCIFG. “It is a great privilege to become the board member of CCIFG, and I plan to do my bit to help companies achieve a profitable business. The CCIFG helps us to provide assistance through business orientation and networking opportunities,” Shavdia said.

Before December of last year, CCIFG operated under the name French Business Council-Georgia (FBC –Georgia). Transformation into the fully-fledged Chamber of Commerce and Industry of France - Georgia (CCIFG) gave the CCIFG members direct access to approximately 400,000 companies and played an essential role in supporting the development of the French business community overseas, as well as serve as a resource for companies seeking to expand internationally.

In addition, membership provides CCIFG member companies’ representatives visa procedure benefits via the French Embassy in Tbilisi.

French Ambassador Renaud Salins addressed the assembly delegates, expressing his readiness to work with the French, as well as Georgian companies to deepen the economic and commercial relationship between the two countries. “The door of the Embassy of France to Georgia is always open for intensive discussion of any kind of issue that will bring utility to mutual relationships between the countries,” the Ambassador said.

According to Antoine Bardon, the immediate plan of the CCIFG is to increase the number of member companies’ to 100 by 2013, “We will have many more French companies investing in Georgia than we do now,” he predicted. Moreover, the action plan for 2012 foresees increased interaction between other business associations and the government.

Currently, the CCIFG has 72 member companies from both Georgia and France representing various sectors that include agriculture, food processing, construction, engineering, counseling, pharmaceutical and legal services.