CBN Extra Topics

USA-Georgia Working Group meeting held in Tbilisi

USA proceeds with its economic assistance to Georgia - Jose W. Fernandez, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, said following the three-hour meeting of the US-Georgia Economic Working Group, operating within the Strategic Partnership Charter, signed between the two countries in January 2009.

"The prospects of Georgia's economic development, as well ways for attraction of investments and improvement of country's economic climate, were discussed at the meeting," Fernandez said. According to him, the aforesaid will increase Georgian citizens' perspectives from the point of view of creation of new job opportunities.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs told journalists, the Working Group also discussed possibilities of export of the Georgian products to the USA. However, he did not specify the products concerned. Summarizing the US-Georgia Working Group meeting, Fernandez said "the meeting reflected friendship and partnership existing between the USA and Georgia".
According to the Head of the Working Group from the Georgian side, Deputy Economic Minister, Zurab Alavidze, certain specific recommendations have been voiced at the meeting and the Georgian side is going to meet them in order to improve the business environment and investment climate in the country.
On February 25, the Georgian Finance Minister, Kakha Baindurashvili and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Jose W. Fernandez, signed an agreement on allocation of US$122 million.
As Kakha Baindurashvili told journalists after signing the agreement, US$80 mln. From the aforesaid sum would be allotted for construction of gas pipeline in Poti and its suburbs, while the remaining sum would be used for construction of a new power transmission line in Senaki district (Western Georgia).
U.S. inter-agency delegation, led by Jose W. Fernandez, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, was on visit in Georgia February 24-26. The U.S. delegation was participating in the Economic Working Group meeting, held in Tbilisi under the auspice of the US-Georgia Strategic Partnership Charter.
During the meeting the sides discuss the economic and business cooperation related issues. The aforesaid meeting concluded the first round of working group meetings held in Georgia. Four working groups, tasked with implementation of the US-Georgia Strategic Partnership Charter (signed January 2009, in Washington,) were set up in June 2009 to focus on priority areas under the Charter, including democracy, security, economic development and people-to-people relations.
The US-Georgia Strategic Partnership Charter provides for expansion of partner relations and cooperation between two countries in the spheres of defense and security, economy, energy, democratic reforms, diplomacy and culture.
The first round of talks in the framework of the Strategic Partnership Charter was held in October 2009. U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security, Alexander Vershbow, visited Georgia with that aim and discussed in Tbilisi issues of cooperation in the sphere of security and defense. The second working group of the delegation of the U.S. State Department headed by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor Michael Posner arrived in Tbilisi in November and discussed the development of democratic processes. Working Group meeting in the sphere of education and culture was held in January.

Posted by CBN Extra Staff on 03 Mar 2010 [06:56] | Comments 0 |