The Silk Road Forum opened in Tbilisi today. Around 2000 delegates from more than 60 countries arrived in Georgia to attend the event.

Georgia – a gateway between Europe and Asia. The Government is talking to potential partners in this regard about the country"s transit capabilities.

As the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said in his speech at the opening of the Silk Road Forum, Georgia was historically playing a significant role in the development of the Silk Road. Respectively, with its strategic location between Europe and Asia Georgia is well positioned with its well-developed transport and customs infrastructure, pro-business policy, strong regional and overall trade relations. It has a tremendous potential to perform a role of the hub and continue further with trade facilitation between Asia and Europe.

Gakharia emphasized that Georgia is the only country in the region that has a free trade agreement with both the European Union and the eastern countries, including China. According to him, it would be interesting for partners to work together to assimilate into markets where it would have been difficult to become independent. It has also been said that similar agreements are being made with Israel and India.

The Prime Minister also noted that along with the favorable investment environment, investors in Georgia may gain a preferential access to a sales marker with 2.3 billion potential consumers and it is enabled through a web of FTAs concluded by the country.

“With an aim of incentivized international shipments and forwarding, deepened trade and economic relations, great importance has been acquired by the sound operation of transport infrastructure in the region. On the background of these very challenges, large regional transport infrastructure projects are implemented in the country, e.g. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars new railway link, modernization of the Georgian Railway, construction of a highway, upgrades of port infrastructure at the Black Sea and construction of a new deep-see port”, - said Gakharia.