The International Chamber of Commerce holds its first Consultative Board meeting
Monday, December 10
The members of the Consultative Board are:
H.E. Mr. Renaud Salins - Ambassador of France
H.E. Mr. Ortwin Hennig - Ambassador of Germany
H.E. Ms. Frederica Favi - Ambassador of Italy
H.E. Mr. Levent Murat Burhan - Ambassador of Turkey
H.E. Ms. Judith Gough - Ambassador of UK
H.E. Pieter J. Langenberg - Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
H.E. Mr. Philip Dimitrov - Head, EU Delegation
H.E. Mr.Jamie McGoldrick - UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia
The Honorable Henri Kerali - Regional Director, World Bank
The Honorable Paul-Henri Forestier - Regional Director, EBRD
The Honorable Azim Sadikov - IMF Resident Representative (Observer Status)
In addition to the general business climate several issues were discussed such as the banking system, small and medium enterprises, competition law, labour code, tax issues, the real estate situation and relations with government and parliament.
“It was a very productive meeting where many issues were discussed and we listened to the views and advice of the members of the Advisory Board, we also expressed our concerns to the Consultative Board regarding public statements made by high ranking officials in the West in regard to the recent arrests in Georgia and expressed our wish that such statements are made in the future through diplomatic channels only and not through the media considering that on one hand they interfere with due judicial process and on the other they ruin the investment climate in the country” said Fady Asly Chairman of the Board.
The Board meeting was followed by a reception at the Sheraton Piano Bar that was attended by ICC members, the diplomatic corps and several government officials including Mr. Nodar Khaduri Minister of Finance and Mr. David Kirvalidze Minister of Agriculture.
In his address to the attendees Minister Khaduri emphasized the importance of cooperation between the Ministry of Finance and the International Chamber of Commerce and expressed his willingness to keep a permanent dialog with the organization.
H.E. Ambassador Pieter Langenberg addressed the audience on behalf of the Consultative Board and stressed the importance of having a dialog with ICC Board members and with businesses in general to better comprehend the different challenges; Ambassador Langenberg stated that stability was the key for economic prosperity without which there could be no serious investments in the country.
In addition to regular company members, ICC-Georgia includes ten major business organizations and is the most vocal business body in the country.
ICC is the largest business organization in the world that unites hundreds of thousands of companies and organizations from over 120 countries into a representative body which speaks with authority on behalf of businesses worldwide; ICC works closely with the G8, G20, WB, UN, IMF,WTO and WCO.