Almaty, Tbilisi foster win-win partnership
Paying a working visit to Georgia, Almaty Mayor Bauyrzhan Baibek met with Mayor of Tbilisi and ex-football star Kaladze. The sides discussed the issues of strengthening cooperation in the development of urban environment, trade and economic relations, exchange of experience and collaboration in tourism.
At that meeting, Bauyrzhan Baibek pointed out that a number of ambitious infrastructure projects are underway in Almaty, and there are ample investment opportunities for Georgian businessmen in terms of logistics, tourism, and the Smart City project.
In turn, highlighting the need to expand cooperation between the two cities, the Mayor of Tbilisi emphasized that the two countries have always had warm and fraternal relations. During the meeting, Kakha Kaladze expressed interest in a number of projects under implementation in Almaty including sustainable transport and recycling of municipal solid waste.
In Tbilisi, Bauyrzhan Baibek also met with Dimitri Kumsishvili, the country's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development.
The sides discussed issues of partnership in tourism and improving the business climate. Georgia is presently in the ninth place of the World Bank Ease of Doing Business rankings and demonstrates unprecedented progress in tourism development. In 2017 alone, Georgia was visited by over 7.5 million tourists.
"Tourism between the two countries is very well-developed. We are interested in strengthening cooperation and exchange of experience in the development of tourism cluster," Dimitri Kumsishvili said.
It should be mentioned that in 2017, the trade turnover between Almaty city and Georgia increased by 14.5% in contrast to 2016. There are 51 Georgia-invested enterprises of trade, finance, construction, and medicine in the city.