There was a signing ceremony between the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia and the Ministry of Agriculture on the implementation of the Agrodiesel project to support local farmers for 2021 The word document was signed by Georgia, Minister of Environment and Agriculture Levan Davitashvili, Director of SOCAR Petroleum Georgia. Faik Guliyev, General Director of SOCAR Energy Georgia and other officials from the Ministry named after the ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Georgia attended the signing ceremony.

During the meeting held before the signing ceremony, Minister Levan Davitashvili welcomed guests and expressed satisfaction with the current cooperation level between the Ministry and SOCAR, which was shown in the implementation of the ′′ Agrodiesel ′′ project, which was headed during the pandemic. He emphasized that the so-called program was successfully implemented in 2020 and that it is a delightful situation to continue this cooperation in 2021 Last year, the minister said that within this program, the provision of Georgian agrarian sector with Azerbaijani-origin diesel fuel continued and more than 125 farmers benefited from it. As a result of the sale of diesel fuel at preferential prices, local farmers saved more than 7.0 million lari.

Ambassador Faiq Guliyev thanked the opposite side for the invitation to participate in the signing ceremony and noted that as in all spheres of the two countries, there are also strong cooperation relations in the agricultural sector. It is stated that our countries have always been there for each other and supported each other during difficult times. A few years ago, there was a lack of equipment and a great demand in the agricultural sector in Georgia, in order to pay this need, the Azerbaijani side sent its equipment to Georgia. Today, solidarity and cooperation between our countries continues in the conditions of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has encountered the world. In this particular, the ′′ Agrodiesel ′′ project was launched last year to support local farmers and the SOCAR signed a contract between Georgia's Environment Protection and Ministry of Agriculture. The ambassador emphasized that this project is a clear example of friendship and brotherhood relations between the two countries.

CEO of SOCAR Energy Georgia, Mahir Mammadov, noted that this program was implemented to solve the challenges faced by local farmers during the pandemic and said the project's results for 2020 were positive. He thanked the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia for cooperation in this field and expressed hope that the project will contribute to the development of agricultural sector in Georgia.

Today we celebrate the signing of the two strategic treaties between Japan and Georgia, which will bring economic cooperation of the two countries to the next level: so-called “Investment Treaty” will significantly broaden the capabilities of economic partnership through liberalization of investment, while the so-called “Tax Treaty” will create beneficial environment for economic partnerships, through exemption from the double taxation for both countries. Those are the first such treaties since the independence of Georgia.

Ambassador IMAMURA: “Georgia's favorable business environment has been highly acclaimed internationally and Japanese companies are becoming more interested in Georgia. The conclusion of these two treaties will enable Japanese businesses to invest in Georgia with more stability and it is expected that economic cooperation between Japan and Georgia will become more active.”

The so-called “Investment Treaty” (Agreement between Japan and Georgia for the Liberalization, Promotion and Protection of Investment) was signed with the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia – Ms. Natia Turnava, while the so-called “Tax Treaty” (Convention between Japan and Georgia for the Elimination of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance) was signed with the Minister of Finance of Georgia – Ivane Matchavariani, on January 29/2021. Ambassador IMAMURA Akira was the signatory on behalf of the Government of Japan.