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Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 4
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Among the priority areas of bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Georgia in the economic sphere, the Ukrainian side is considering further increase in the volume of trade in goods and services, as well as development of transport and energy corridors, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine told Trend.
"Another important direction in Georgian-Ukrainian economic relations is the development of cooperation programs in the field of tourism and the hotel business, the expansion of cooperation in the agricultural sector and the food industry, and the creation of joint ventures," the ministry said.
On May 21, 2019, Ukraine and Georgia signed a protocol in Kiev, which amended the Free Trade Agreement concluded between the governments of the countries on January 9, 1995, the report said.
The amendments to the agreement allow Ukraine and Georgia to use identical rules in bilateral trade and apply the provisions of the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin (Pan-Euro-Med), and, in particular, the effect of diagonal cumulation.
"The protocol was signed by First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv and Minister of Economy of Georgia Natia Turnava. Development of an internal state procedure is underway to prepare the Protocol for ratification," the ministry said.
Reportedly, the protocol also creates the legal basis for introducing the provisions of the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin in the trade relations between Ukraine and Georgia.
In bilateral trade, the exporters of the parties will be able to choose between the EUR.1 certificate used to determine the origin according to the provisions of the Convention and the ST-1 certificate, which was determined in the framework of the Agreement dated January 9, 1995.
The Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin was adopted in 2012 at the initiative of the European Union. The Convention opens up new opportunities for cooperation in trade between the parties, and also increases the growth of foreign direct investment.