Transportation, food, tourism, minerals and energy industries were the key topics at the Georgian -Kazakh business forum held in Tbilisi on October 18 where the countries’ Chambers of Commerce and Industries signed the cooperation memorandum.

Archil Kekelia, the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia said at the welcoming speech that he wanted to underscore the importance of developing business relations between Kazakhstan and Georgia.

“The territory of Kazakhstan is bigger than the whole of west Europe and has various natural resources,” Kekelia said.

According to him, the forum, which is the first such event of its kind, will increase economic activity between the two countries, help businessmen to negotiate with each other and will help to attract more investments and raise the export level.

About twenty-four delegates from Kazakhstan participated in the forum to share their experiences with Georgian colleagues and to present investment plans in Georgia.

Notably, the pharmaceutical, agriculture, heavy industry, insurance and banking sectors were the most interesting areas for Kazakh businessmen.

Nino Chikovani, General Director of the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry told Georgia Today that Georgian businessmen expressed a very high interest in this event, as more than 50 Georgian companies participated in the forum.

According to Jalil Bulatov, Managing Director of Kaznex Invest, who was one of the organizers of the forum on the Kazakh side, there is a 40% increase in trade between Georgia and Kazakhstan every year.

Kazakh businessmen have shown a keen interest in doing business in Georgia. As Kekelia told Georgia Today, about 20 Kazakh businesses and 20 Georgia-Kazakh companies exist in Georgia.

The amount of Kazakh investment in Georgia in 2011 for the first eight months is $11,700,000. In the same period, Georgia exported goods in net worth of $140 million to Kazakhstan and imported $38 million worth of products.

In order to find out more about Kazakh entrepreneurs interests in Georgia, Georgia Today interviewed Lee Elena Eduardovna, General Director of Dolce-Pharm, a Kazakh pharmaceutical manufacturing and commercial association of companies.

“A free market and healthy surroundings are the main reasons why we were interested in Georgia. Our company is the largest producer of disposable medical products. We know that in your country, the medical sphere is developing properly all the time and we want to use this potential,” explained Eduardovna.

It was the first Georgia-Kazakh business forum in Georgia. “For future cooperation, the Georgian delegation might go to Kazakhstan and hold the forum there,” remarked Nino Chikovani.

The event was co-organized by the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Georgian the National Investment Agency, the Georgian Employers Association and the Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Source: www.georgiatoday.ge