BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 5
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgian Prime Minister Georgi Gakharia is on a visit to the Netherlands, Trend reports citing the press service of the Georgian government.
The visit of the head of the Georgian government will last for one day. During his visit Gakharia met with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.
"The Netherlands is a great supporter of our country in both bilateral and multilateral formats. We highly appreciate this support,” Gakharia said after a meeting with his Dutch counterpart, Georgian media outlets reported.
According to the Georgian Prime Minister's press office, the head of government noted that the parties discussed all directions of cooperation between the two countries.
Gakharia said this is the first high-level visit of the Georgian Prime Minister to the Netherlands and the first visit by him as a head of the government to an EU member state. He said the sides also talked about Georgia's progress towards the Euro-Atlantic integration.
"We consider the Netherlands an important partner in this direction. We are also grateful for the Netherlands' involvement and support in the implementation of the NATO-Georgia substantial package. We also discussed issues of economic cooperation. We are pleased that the number of tourists has significantly increased from the Netherlands to Georgia,” Gakharia said.
Rutte, in turn said that as a result of several-year efforts, Georgia became an exemplary country for other countries in the region.
"That's why Georgia is a key partner of the Netherlands and the European Union," he said at a joint briefing.
"Your visit is a proof that the relationship between our countries has never been at such a high level. This is especially true in our trade relations. The Netherlands is one of Georgia's largest trade partners, while we second in terms of investments," Rutte said to Gakharia.
"We believe in the solid macroeconomic stability of your country, the growth of its economy and its reforms. We are confident that stability will provide opportunities to further develop our trade relations in the coming years, including in the agrarian sector,” Rutte said.
According to Mark Rutte, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has been sending agrarian trade missions to Georgia for five years and is ready to share experience with Georgia in various areas in the future too, if needed.
Mark Rutte also highlighted the positive trend of tourism growth, noting that the above was promoted by the Dutch television program shot in Georgia, which is popular in the Netherlands.
Georgia and the Netherlands established diplomatic relations on April 22, 1992. The foreign trade turnover between the countries for 2019 amounted to $251.7 million. In order to facilitate trade and economic relations between the two countries, the Georgian-Netherlands Business Council was founded in 2012.
The Netherlands is providing significant assistance to Georgia in such important areas as the rule of law and human rights, promoting security and stability, improving governance, and overcoming poverty.
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