At a Hungarian-Georgian business forum held in Tbilisi on Friday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that all the conditions exist for prosperous Hungarian-Georgian economic cooperation.
In his speech closing the forum, Mr. Orbán stressed that the political leaders have done everything they could to encourage economic cooperation, and political relations between the two countries are perfect. In addition, he pointed out, Hungary and Georgia are also close to each other geographically and culturally.
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The Prime Minister stressed that the Georgian government is implementing measures, programmes and reforms similar to those which Hungary has implemented recently.
Mr. Orbán said that Hungary often receives news on the conflict between Georgia and Russia, but economic cooperation has nothing to do with this conflict. He stated that Georgia’s foreign policy is stable and reliable, and Hungary supports Georgia’s territorial integrity.
He also mentioned that the two countries are closer than one would think, and that “Georgia is not at the end of the world”.
The Prime Minister noted that Georgia is one of the very few countries with which Hungary has never been in conflict with – either in the past or present; the countries will seek to follow this pattern in the future, he added.
He observed that Eximbank’s credit facility, the agreements signed during the visit and direct air services between the two countries all promote economic cooperation. It is likewise a beneficial development that Georgia has been granted visa-free travel by the EU, he added.
Georgian prime minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili stressed that while the population of his country is only four million and it may therefore seem like a small market, it has a significant regional role, as the country is situated at the crossroads of important trade routes between Europe and Asia, and is developing dynamically.
He said that bilateral relations will further improve with the Hungarian prime minister’s visit. They will continue to build relations in every area, he stressed, including the most important one: the area of business.
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Listing the advantages his country has to offer, the Georgian prime minister noted that they have made major progress in recent years, their economic policy is committed to development, and they are also committed to the strengthening of democracy and the promotion of economic growth.
He pointed out that Georgia’s trade policy is one of the most liberal in the world, and one of its main objectives is to access the world’s leading markets. To this end the country seeks to create a very favourable business environment.
In closing, Mr. Kvirikashvili said that Hungary is an important trade and business partner with which Georgia would like to forge even closer cooperation.
The Hungarian prime minister is paying a two-day official visit to Georgia with a business delegation and a number of his ministers. On Friday morning he laid a wreath at the Monument of Heroes, and had talks with Giorgi Kvirikashvili.
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After the business forum, at the end of his visit, the Hungarian prime minister was scheduled to meet Georgian head of state Giorgi Margvelashvili and Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia.
(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)
