TANAKA Akihiko

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, third from right, and JICA President Akihiko Tanaka, second from left.

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka held talks with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili in Tokyo on Oct. 24. Margvelashvili expressed thanks for JICA's many years of cooperation.

Tanaka said Margvelashvili's visit is an opportunity to deepen the friendship between the two countries. The two men then discussed future areas of cooperation to develop the Georgian economy and society.

Margvelashvili emphasized the importance of social development that involves the private sector, then touched on the national infrastructure project to make Georgia a logistics hub. He said he hopes Japanese companies will make further advances into Georgia in the field of transport infrastructure, and he expressed appreciation for JICA's support for the East West Highway Improvement Project (1).

He went on to say that from the point of view of job creation for rural population of the country and food security, development of the agriculture sector and the advance of small- and medium-sized enterprises in urban areas are important, and he said that in the energy sector, there is room for further development of hydroelectric power. He also said that because Georgia is blessed in tourism resources, he would like to promote small- and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism sector. With regard to encouraging business, Margvelashvili said he looks forward to the visit to Georgia of Japanese companies through a JICA study mission on business promotion for the investment forum his government will sponsor next week.

In response, Tanaka said he has been deeply impressed by the remarkable improvement in the business environment in Georgia due to reforms in recent years. He also said he would like to continue detailed discussions based on policies Margvelashvili has indicated he will follow, in order to conduct cooperation in line with the country's future direction.


Note

1: A Japanese ODA loan agreement entered into in 2009 that improved bridges and the road running from Zestaponi to Samtredia from east to west across Georgia.