EU-Georgia Business Forum 2023

With the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union, the European Business Association (EBA), in partnership with ProCredit Bank Georgia, organised the “EU-Georgia Business Forum 2023” at Pullman Tbilisi Axis Towers.

(EBA Press Release)

John Braeckeveldt, the President of the European Business Association; Shalva Papuashvili, the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia; Pawel Herczynski, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia; Maciej Czura, Head of EIB Global Regional Representation for the South Caucasus and Lasha Khutsishvili, the Minister of Finance of Georgia opened the forum and delivered welcome speeches.

The forum brought together leaders from different fields of activity in a single space in order to meet and establish business relations, discuss current challenges and summarise all the achievements in the business sector. The event featured the presentation of the EU Business Climate Report 2023, prepared by the European Business Association and supported by the European Union, which summarises the future steps of the country's development and assesses the reforms from the perspective of both public and private sector representatives.

The presentation was followed by the panel discussion on the “Access to Finance” topic participated by the decision makers from the European business community in Georgia, government officials, and international experts. The panellists reviewed the main findings of the presented report, the challenges related to access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, the importance of proper regulatory framework, trade-related business issues, and the European association process in Georgia. A particular emphasis was placed on the success achieved towards European integration and the importance of the active involvement of the business sector in this direction. Participants also highlighted the role of business support organisations in terms of providing a platform for public-private dialogue and the need to share successful practices in this regard.

The members of the EBA, European Economic Cooperation Platform (EECP), Georgian Parliament, government representatives, private sector, diplomatic corps, international organisations, and financial institutions; decision-makers and partners of ProCredit Bank attended the forum.

The Trade show of successful European companies’ products also took place simultaneously. Thirty companies from different sectors and industries had the opportunity to exhibit materials and introduce their organisations to the attendees. A specially arranged space was dedicated to business-to-business (B2B) meetings were forum participants had the opportunity of establishing business contacts and discuss possible cooperation scenarios between each other.

The EU-Georgia Business Forum was established last year as the main business event of the year in Georgia. The first-ever presentation of the European Economic Cooperation Platform, EECP, occurred during the 2022 Forum as well as the EU Business Climate Report publication. This year, the event was held on a much larger scale, bringing together up to 300 participants from various sectors and industries.

ABOUT GOSSELIN: 

Founded in 1930, Gosselin currently employs more than 975 people who generate total sales of over 450 million Euros. Gosselin’s headquarters is located on the Albert Canal in Deurne where the container terminal connects the Port of Antwerp Bruges and the Port of Rotterdam with the European hinterland. With 56 offices in 34 countries, the company has strong representation in Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia and China. The Gosselin Group consists of two divisions: Gosselin Moving and Gosselin Logistics.  

Gosselin Moving handles international moves for multinationals, expats, diplomats, military personnel and private individuals.  

Gosselin Logistics provides logistics services to businesses, with activities ranging from forwarding, warehouse storage and container processing to industrial logistics projects for heavy machinery and entire factories.