Being at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Georgia’s strategic geographic location has been one of its strongest assets, said the Prime Minister of Georgia, while addressing the participants of the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels.

“In December 2021, when the Global Gateway initiative was introduced, the European Union invited partners to focus on sustainable development by improving transport and energy infrastructure, to reinforce health and education systems and to promote digital advancement.

Being at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Georgia’s strategic geographic location has been one of its strongest assets. Therefore, we have made enhanced connectivity as a priority of our domestic agenda and have been working with our international partners and international financial institutions (IFI) to transform our country into a regional transport, logistics and digital hub.

Although Georgia has no land border with the EU, we have yet untapped opportunities across the Black Sea that will firmly anchor us with the EU and allow us to utilize the full potential of integration into the EU Single Market.

Given the ever-growing importance of diversifying and expanding East-West trade, the Middle Corridor across Georgia is becoming a viable alternative to existing routes connecting Europe and Asia. With enhanced infrastructure capabilities, streamlined processes and competitive costs, the importance of this corridor is growing.

To support Georgia’s position as a regional centre for trade and logistics, my Government focuses heavily on development of major infrastructure. In recent years, significant investments were made to upgrade the country’s roads, railways and airports, as well as to develop new transport infrastructure projects.

These include the Black Sea Submarine Electricity Cable project, which will create transit opportunities and back-to-back trade options of green renewable energy between the EU and the South Caucasus via Georgia, while improved ferry-feeder connections in the Black Sea will enhance international transit through the Middle Corridor.

The development of a new Anaklia Deep Sea Port will increase Georgia’s capabilities to ship large quantities of cargoes. Furthermore, an underwater fibre-optic cable in the Black Sea will ensure fast internet connectivity from South-East Europe to South Caucasus delivering faster and more reliable internet connections to our people.

In order to increase the transit potential of Georgia, the capacity of national railways will increase twice in volume by the end of 2024, along with planned improvements to major highways and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway”, - said Irakli Garibashvili.