Georgian-Ukrainian Business Club promotes closer ties
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Being founded less than a year ago, the Georgian-Ukrainian Business Club (GUBC), an organization dedicated to promoting Georgian-Ukrainian business relations, has became the venue for sharing information and experiences and for advancing the bilateral ties between the two countries.
Talking about the main achievements of the Georgian-Ukrainian Business Club, Victor Kipiani, the Co-Chairman of the GUBC, stressed that last year was the basis for both countries’ representatives seeking to expand business, political and cultural relationships.
“GUBC strived to connect these people with the hope that the club would have a follow-up meeting for future agreements,” Kipiani said at the presentation of GUBC’s web site on February 14.
Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Tsybenko explained that 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Georgia and the past years have acted as a foundation for a mutual and beneficial partnership in different spheres.
“We are here in Georgia to support Georgian-Ukrainian bilateral relations and will continue to facilitate and promote networking within the Ukrainian-Georgian business community,” Tsybenko told Georgia Today, adding that, economic cooperation between Ukraine and Georgia is developing successfully and trade is actively being conducted.
Ukraine is the third largest trade partner of Georgia. Trade turnover between Ukraine and Georgia was up over 40% in 2011 and has reached $846.8 million or 9.2% of Georgia’s total trade turnover, according to the Geostat, the state statistic office of Georgia.
In the period since Ukraine and Georgian began their trade relationship, 2008 marked a peak in trade turnover between the two countries, reaching nearly one billion US dollars in total. Tsybenko is confident that according to the initial estimations, if a stable trade relationship continues, it will soon eclipse 2008’s numbers.
The main Ukrainian exports to Georgia are the production of agro-industrial products of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgies, mechanical engineering and chemical industry. In total, more than one-hundred Ukrainian goods are successfully realized in Georgia.
Georgian exports to Ukraine are mainly represented by the production of agro industrial products (citrus, fruit, mineral water, nuts, wine, brandy alcohol) and metallurgy (ferroalloys). Moreover, the fastest growth rate in total exports of Georgia in 2011 was nuts (103% y/y increase).
The range of trade also increases by means of services. The most important of these services are rail transportation and shipping, commercial air services, the transit of vehicles, banking services and insurance.
Investment turnover of economic cooperation has also increased. Ukrainian companies have invested capital in industrial plants and in the banking sector of Georgia, as well as in the activities of free industrial zones.
Mulling over the potential in the Georgian and Ukrainian markets, Kipiani noted that cooperation with Ukraine has two advantages – a population of around 50 million, as well as abundant natural resources.
In order to find out more about Ukrainian entrepreneurs’ interests, Georgia Today interviewed Maxim Ryzhov, the General Country manager for Georgia for Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), Ukraine’s leading airline.
“UIA launched a direct service between Kyiv and Tbilisi in 2007 and passenger traffic has considerably grown since then, and the number of flights between Tbilisi and Kyiv has been increased from three to seven per week,” Ryzhov noted, and added that Georgian passengers have been provided with even more opportunities to travel via Ukrainian capital, to several other destination in the world.
According to Ryzhov, the annual passenger numbers of UIA on the route from Kyiv to Tbilisi and vice-versa, was 61, 500 in 2011 (a 25% increase in comparison to the same period in 2010).
He believes that the Club will significantly improve cooperation between their countries’ respective business communities and make the investment environment in the region more attractive.
Currently, the GUBC has 15 member companies, consisting of both Georgian and Ukrainian enterprises, representing various sectors. These include BG Capital, an investment arm of Bank of Georgia, the law firm of Mgaloblishvili, Kipiani and Dzidziguri, the travel agency HRG Georgia, McDonald’s Georgia, PSP Pharmaceuticals, and Rakia Georgia which manages the Poti Free Industrial Zone.