Topic is about Georgia's foreign diplomacy/politics from 1992 until present days.

1. Georgia’s Economic
Diplomacy: Small
Country – Big
Ambitions.
Lecturer: Amiran Kavadze
Student: Anano Paghava
Date: 16.05.2017

2. Table of contents
 Introduction
- Historic overview;
- Path Towards West (International organizations, agreements)
- Socio-economic environment in independent Georgia (90s);
 Shift in the governance
 Recent developments, bilateral relations
 Conclusion

3. Engagement in international
organizations
 United Nations (1992),
 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (1994)
 World trade Organization,
 World Bank
 International monetary Fund (1992)
 TACIS – technical assistance to the
Commonwealth of Independent States;
Mr Vazha Lordkipanidze, the State Minister of
Georgia, signs, subject to ratification, Georgia's
Protocol on the Accession to the WTO in October
1999 in Geneva, Switzerland.

4. Introduction
 Georgia always preferred to imitate developed countries
and shared the western values.
 “At the outset of the reforms the socio- economic
situation in the country was extremely difficult.
Inflation reached 8,000 % annually and the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) was 3 times less the index of
1990. 80% of the population lived beyond the official
line of poverty.” (BOARDS OF GOVERNORS l 1998 ANNUAL
MEETINGS l WASHINGTON, D.C, Press Release No. 64
October 6 - 8, 1998).

5.  "Civilized person-to-person relations are above ideology or class or particular
interests," "This is what guides me when I talk to James Baker [then US Secretary
of State], or to Douglas Hurd, or Hans-Dietrich Genscher. They are partners,
people with whom I have been able to establish a good relationship". The
Guardian,1990.

6. AIDS to Georgia
 The Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States”
Program that was initiated by the European Commission in 1991, helped the
members of the CIS in the transition period from socialist to the Democratic
market-oriented economies;
 GSP - Generalized System of Preferences Since 1995;
 “Under the current GSP regulation Georgia qualifies for a special incentive
rewarding sustainable development and good governance (GSP+) with better
access to the EU market. Georgia continues to benefit from GSP+ until 31
December 2016” (European Commission official web)

7.  After the Rose Revolution in Georgia country has undergone profound changes in almost all
governmental sectors and implemented reforms;
 Association Agreement between the European Union and Georgia, signed in 2014, 27th of June.;
 DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area);
 EU imports from Georgia mineral products, agricultural products, base metals and chemical products.
The EU imported goods to the value of €742 million from Georgia in 2015.

8. Ambitious, young president’s
diplomacy…
 Eastern Partnership Initiative - new way for deep integration with EU; 6 eastern
European partners Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine;
 “Finally, the evolution of the bilateral relationship eloquently displays the
significance of personalities to policy outcomes (Shevardnadze’s prior connections to
James Baker and George H. W. Bush in one instance, and Mikheil Saakashvili’s
connections to George W. Bush and John McCain in a second. As such, consideration of
the perspectives and policies of the two sides necessitates study not only of strategic
perspectives, but also of internal elite dynamics, bureaucratic and interest group
politics, and also public opinion. “(Cacachia, Cecire, p.79)

9. Gazprom ???
 The political approach and the policy
of Georgia had changed after the
Georgian Dream.
 «It should be noted that economic and
particularly energy cooperation with
the Russian Federation is part of soft
power. I would like to reiterate -
Gazprom is not just about energy. We
should not forget that Russia wants to
use economic levers for political
purposes, therefore negotiations with
Gazprom should continue
transparently with the supreme
political leadership mandate within
the established red lines,” – annual
speech in parliament of Georgia,
Margvelashvili,2016.

10. Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline
 Georgia has been heavily dependent on Gazprom with all the consequences this entailed.
First, the price of Russian gas shot up (in 2005), and then in early 2006 the pipeline from
Russia to Georgia was blown up and for some reason it took weeks to repair while Georgia
(and Armenia) was freezing in the dark. Georgia was lucky to rid itself of this dependence
when the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline was launched soon after. Since then, the country
has enjoyed an uninterrupted supply of Azerbaijani gas, which is said to be substantially
cheaper than Gazprom’s.

11. (OEC - Observatory of economic
complexity)
 With the 2015 data Azerbaijan remains the main supplier of the Petroleum to
Georgia, Latest figures from Georgia’s National Statistics Department
revealed that Azerbaijani gas import to its West-North neighbor has increased
by 14.1% between January-August 2015.

12. “Better later then never“?!
 Georgia can become the key actor in the China’s silk roads plans even though
it was left out in the early stages. (OBOR)
 Trade between countries was worth over $700 million in 2015, FDI from China
was more than $200 million by 2014, and exports from Georgia to China have
increased by around 2000 percent compared to 2009.
 On December 13, 2015, the first transit train from China arrived to a station in
Georgia, thus marking the opening of the “Silk Railroad.”

13. Visa-Free travel between Georgia and
Schengen countries

14. Thank You
Questions?