On 3 February, Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia met with the India’s ambassador to the country, Kashan Dan Dewal, to discuss the opening of the Indian Embassy in Georgia and the intensification of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the two countries, reported agenda.ge.
The press-release published by the government of Georgia read that the decision made by India regarding the establishment of an embassy in Georgia “is gratifying,” proving that relations between the two countries are developing over time. At the meeting Gakharia and Dan Dewal focussed on further deepening trade and economic relations between Georgia and India, which will be 'significantly facilitated by concluding a free trade agreement,’ says the government of Georgia. Dan Dewal said that India was ready to intensify negotiations on signing a free trade agreement.
Georgia’s Economy Minister Natia Turnava said that Georgia and India had prepared a feasibility study which said that a free trade deal will have “a very positive effect” for both countries. “We have already exchanged the text of this agreement and we hope to move to direct negotiations in the near future,” said Turnava. The first round of free trade talks between the two countries should have already taken place but was postponed due to the pandemic and is planned to be held in the near future, the press release emphasised.
According to the data of the Indian Department of Commerce from 2017, bilateral trade between Georgia and India totalled US$107.04 million in 2015–16, declining slightly from $105.02 million in the previous fiscal year. India exported $82.57 million worth of goods to Georgia and imported $24.47 million. The main commodities exported by India to Georgia are cereals, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery and equipment, aluminium and aluminium articles. The major commodities imported by India from Georgia are fertilisers, aluminium and aluminium articles, copper and copper articles.
In 2017, the free trade talks between the two countries officially commenced. At present, India and Georgia are deepening bilateral ties in an array of fields, including tourism, aviation, investment and cultural exchange.
