Natia Turnava meets Austrian Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology

The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava met with the Austrian Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology Andreas Reichhardt. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Ministers of Economy and Sustainable Development - Akaki Sagirashvili and Irakli Nadareishvili, Chairman of the Innovation and Technology Agency Avtandil Kasradze, Head of the Department of Transport Ketevan Salukvadze and Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Georgia H.E. Arad Benko.

Georgia and the Republic of Austria, as stated at the meeting cooperate actively and closely political, trade-economic, inter-parliamentary, law-enforcement and other fields. A memorandum was signed during the meeting, which provides for bilateral cooperation in the transport, communications, IT and innovation sectors between Georgia and Austria.

The parties emphasized the importance of the work of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) in Georgia, which also contributes to the strengthening of economic ties between the two countries. In this context, Austrian firms are increasingly interested in Georgia's investment opportunities.

Additionally, at the current stage, the parties discussed holding the next meeting in the Austrian capital Vienna on March 5-6, 2020. The Georgian side expressed readiness to hold another session of the Intergovernmental Commission in the period proposed by the Austrian side.

“The Georgian side is interested in launching a partnership with Austria's leading rail company, ‘Rail Cargo Austria’, to develop transit traffic between Austria and China through Georgia. Moreover, the Georgian side expressed its wish to establish a working group together with the Austrian side to share experience in the development of logistics centers,” noted Turnava after the meeting.

The sides discussed cooperation in the fields of transport, telecommunications, modern technologies, innovations, energy and expressed readiness to enhance and deepen cooperation between the countries in these fields. It was also noted that the Government of Georgia is making every effort to develop multimodal traffic and regular freight trains in the middle corridor.

Austrian Development Agency GmbH is the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation. On behalf of the Federal Government, it plans, finances and supports development programmes and projects in the countries of Africa, Asia, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe and the Caribbean.

In Georgia, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) aims at supporting national economic development and democratisation. The central focus of Austrian Development Cooperation in Georgia is strengthening the convergence with European institutions, standards and values. Together with representatives of Georgia, ADA has declared agriculture and forestry as well as good governance as priority sectors in their mutual efforts for better living conditions.