Meeting with the Media Representatives on the DCFTA Issues

The meeting with the media representatives on the DCFTA related issues organised by the EU project “Facility for the Implementation of the AA in Georgia – II” tool place on February 8-9 in Kakheti with the support from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. The representatives from the LEPL Accreditation Center (GAC), LEPL Market Surveillance Agency, LEPL State Procurement Agency, LEPL Revenue Service, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and responsible persons from the companies who already export products produced in Georgia to the EU participated in the meeting.

“As a result of effective implementation of the successful DCFTA, the share of Georgian products exported to the European Union was increasing significantly. Prior to the entry into force of this agreement, Georgian origin products amount to 65% of total export to the EU, and as for now, this figure has increased up to 89%” – stated Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Genadi Arveladze during the informative meeting. According to the Deputy Minister, to further promote the process it is important to provide more information about the benefits and opportunities of the agreement to the target audience, in which the Government hopes for the media support and partnership.

“Raising public awareness of the importance of DCFTA is very crucial. To this end, we, along with the donor organizations, are constantly informing target groups, especially the representatives of the SMEs. In this regard, the media is our strategic partner, which should have full information on how the DCFTA implementation process is taking place in Georgia. At the same time, such a communication format is mutually beneficial,”- stated Genadi Arveladze.

The representatives of the state agencies discussed the progress made in implementing the norms of the agreement, the implemented, ongoing and planned reforms. During the meeting with the media representatives, the heads of the Georgian companies  (“Geonaturals”, “Georgian Product”, “Chikori”) exporting to the EU delivered presentation on the success stories of trading with the European Union.