Foreign and Military Affairs
Georgian PM seeks more cooperation with China
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-28 09:39
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TBILISI - Prime Minister Nikoloz Gilauri says he hopes that cooperation between Georgia and China will be further boosted to the benefit of both countries.
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The Georgian prime minister's entourage includes some Georgian businessmen from the energy and tourism sectors. He is visiting China for the National Pavilion Day of Georgia at the Shanghai World Expo on Thursday.
Georgian and China can have closer cooperation in such spheres as energy, tourism, free industrial zones and port facilities, Gilauri said.
On the domestic economic situation, Gilauri said Georgia has already been out of recession.
"In the first six months of this year, we had a plus 6.5-percent growth," he said. "On average for the whole of 2010, we predict a growth rate of somewhere between 5 and 6 percent. We are expecting the same growth rate for 2011."
"Starting 2012, Georgia will be able to grow by 8 percent to 10 percent," he added.
In 2009, the Georgian economy suffered a 3.9-percent contraction, according to Gilauri.
Georgia witnessed fast development between 2004 and 2007 when the country recorded an average annual growth rate of 9.8 percent.
"The good thing for us is our economy is growing in not only one direction," Gilauri told Xinhua. "We have growth in exports...we have growth in tourism...we have growth in the financial sector with record high deposits; and we have growth in the real estate sector."
Gilauri, who worked in the energy sector before becoming prime minister in February 2009, places high hopes on China for tapping Georgia's hydropower potential.
"We have developed new regulations that will make hydropower development in Georgia very profitable," he said.
"What we are offering to potential investors is that there is very high demand for electricity in Turkey in summer because of the tourism season and the use of air conditioning."
Gilauri described neighboring Turkey as the world's number two in terms of rising demand for electricity and as a country with one of the highest tariffs for power supplies.
High-voltage power transmission lines are being established to facilitate electricity exports from Georgia to Turkey.
Gilauri said Georgia could also serve as a platform where Chinese businessmen can produce and assemble goods for export to such countries as Turkey, Ukraine and Belarus.
"For China, we could be useful as a kind of gateway to Europe and gateway to this part of the world," he added.
