Georgia may serve as a gateway for Hungarian companies seeking to invest in Central Asian countries, the Parliamentary State Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Tuesday in Budapest.
László Szabó stated at the Georgian-Hungarian business forum, organised on the occasion of the Georgian Prime Minister’s official visit to Hungary that there are so many business opportunities between the two countries that it would be a shame if the two countries could not exploit at least few of them.
As he said, Eximbank – the Ministry’s "own bank" – is hunting for good business opportunities to finance. Prior to the business forum it was announced that the bank has opened a credit line of USD 50 million in order to facilitate cooperation between Hungarian and Georgian small and medium-sized enterprises. László Szabó also noted that a direct flight was launched between the Hungarian capital and Georgia’s Kutaisi last year.
Gábor Kun, deputy CEO of the Hungarian National Trading House, an organisation supporting the export activities of Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises said that Georgia offers excellent investment opportunities, and the country is an attractive investment target for Hungarian companies as well, especially in the fields of agriculture, water management and infrastructure development. A Hungarian trading house is scheduled to open in Tbilisi in April, he said.
Prime Minister of the Transcaucasian state, Irakli Garibashvili emphasised in his speech that Georgia has an outstandingly investment-friendly business environment in international comparison: taxes are low, there is skilled labour and low level of bureaucracy, and Georgia is one of the least corrupt countries in the world, occupying the 11th place on the list of Transparency International. Moreover, the rule of law prevails in the country and guarantees private property, he added. Europe shows increasing interest in Georgia, he said. The free trade agreements between Georgia and the Unites States, Russia, the post-Soviet republics and Turkey add to the appeal of the country, he emphasized.
The head of the investment agency of the Georgian government pointed out that there are only six types of taxes in Georgia; all of them can be paid electronically and - according to the ranking prepared by the American Forbes magazine - the aggregate tax burden is the fourth lowest in the world after Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili arrived in Budapest for a one-day official visit on Tuesday. He had a meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the morning, who declared that Georgia is very important as regards European energy security.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
