Georgia-India relationship turning into a “strategic-economic partnership”
The article recaps the proceedings of the “Georgia-India Economic Forum-2021”
Georgia-India relations are poised to significantly grow in the coming time. New business developments are starting to happen that will give a facelift to the ‘love-hate relationship’ between the two countries that has remained the unspoken norm until recently. Reverse flow of businesses, like Georgian tech startups now entering the Indian market, Indian education institutions attracting students from Georgia and prospecting partnerships with Georgian medical and non-medical universities and Indian and Georgia diaspora businesses collaborating among themselves in third countries are now beginning to happen. Yet the big question is whether this latest upswing in business ties between the two countries is part of the continuing trajectory of love-hate relationship or this marks a departure from that ?
The Caucasus-Asia Center organized the first-ever “Georgia-India Economic Forum” on 6th and 7th December, 2021. The event engaged stakeholders working on different aspects of Georgia-India relationship and prominent personalities who could contribute towards scaling up ties between the two countries. This online event brought them together on a level playing field. The participants deliberated and strategized on shaping the future direction for bilateral cooperation based on the shared democratic values, civilizational linkages, legal protection for cross-border investments and mutual respect for national political prerogatives.
Day I
The event started with a short introduction speech by Ms. Julia Mgeladze. She is a Distinguished Fellow at the center, and she introduced the center’s activities about building people and business ties between the Greater Caucasus and countries in Euro-Asia. Ms. Julia is an active team member and has taken the lead on different matters, including designing and executing this event.
Prof. Rakesh Mohan Joshi, Dean at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi, made the keynote presentation for the event. He set the tone for the event with his inspiring yet practical insights to strengthen the bilateral ties in wide ranging sectors, including academia. Prof. Joshi said, “We (India) are natural partners historically with Georgia . India has enormous capabilities in a number of sectors, India has been providing Georgia with medicine. Pharmaceutical sector is very strong in India. As well as IT. India has a lot of opportunities for Georgia.
The second speaker of the day was Levan Gurgenidze, He is the Head of the International Relations Department at British Teaching University in Georgia. The BTU offers undergraduate degrees in collaboration with the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom, which also validates the diplomas offered by BTU. Mr. Gurgenidze, whilst making an overture for collaborating with counterparts in India, quipped, “Universities have a huge role in bringing societies together through forums and conversations, British University is open to cooperate with Indian partners”
Prof. Giorgi Sanikidze, Director of G.Tsereteli Institute of Oriental Studies at Ilia State University, followed with an academically rigorous presentation on a topic about Georgia’s ancient linkages with Indo-Persia. His expert understanding on Georgia’s close ties with Persia and India made him say — “India and Georgia have a historical and cultural connection in early medieval times; India appeared in Georgian writings. ‘Balavariani’ is an example of the spreading of Buddha’s stories. The First Christian adaptation of Buddha’s stories was the Georgian epic Balavariani from the 10th century. Also, some of the main characters from the most famous Georgian Poem Vefxistyaosani are Indians.”
Archil Sikharulidze, a young Georgian researcher interning at MGIMO (Moscow), presented a contemporary analysis on a topic, entitled as — “Georgia Beyond the West: New Ways of Economic Development”. The doctoral candidate at Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) opined, “The World order is changing, and there is an uprising in Asia: China, India, etc. and Georgia should adjust to this reality and change its perspectives rather than having a unilateral European direction; Georgia should be involved in regional projects as well.”
Giorgi Tukhashvili, a Co-Director at Startup Grind Tbilisi Georgia, who has good understanding and strong professional connections in Indian startup ecosystem said, “I find India fascinating as even with Covid their economic growth has been significant, and it is a fascinating opportunity for start-ups, if you have a market that is growing then there is an opportunity for start-ups. However, it is important for individuals from these countries to connect more, that way we can establish connections. -
Georgia was ranked as the best destination to travel in Europe in the first phase of COVID-19. The country was one of the world’s least affected by coronavirus countries as it very quickly enacted protection measures that kept the epidemic at an extremely low level; however at a later stage it went through its share of hardship coming from the pandemic. Dr. Nina Kekelidze reflecting on the current situation there said, “In Georgia ,during Covid19 hotels,public transports and tourist attractions have implemented safe measures to receive tourists as well as locals, Georgia operates in accordance with the World Health Organization.” Dr. Kekelidze is an Associate Professor at Georgia National University SEU and is the founder of a travel company Discover Georgia.
The discussions on the first day were energized and animated by participants who remained present throughout the session. Prominent and proactive among them were Sofia Gureshidze, Founder of Miss Caucasus, head of Under One Sky company. She raised a pressing concern that “It has gotten harder for famous Indians (singers, actors, Bollywood stars) to get Georgian visas and shoot projects there; for that reason, they go to Armenia and other countries. It is a huge investment loss for Georgia.” Ms. Gureshidze is among the rare hospitality industry experts in Georgia who has been bringing in Bollywood celebrities from India for over a decade, and in recent years she has faced considerable roadblocks in that regard. Also, Mr. Harwinder Dutt, a prominent Indian businessman who has made Georgia his new home, shared his experiences of how Georgia could be an ‘entry-point’ for Indian businesses to the EU market. He emphasized the fact that Georgia still remains the most investment-friendly destination in South Caucasus and broad Eurasia and the country holds tremendous prospects for growth in agriculture, tourism, infrastructure and (renewable) energy sectors.
Day II
The discussion of the second day of the event opened on a high note with a welcome speech jointly delivered by Coordinators Dr. Hriday Sarma and Sandal Kakkar. Dr. Sarma spoke from the center’s office in New Delhi and Mr. Kakkar joined in from Delft, Netherlands, where he works for IKEA International.
Dr. Mamuka Tsereteli, a Senior Fellow at Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) and Founder President of the America-Georgia Business Council, made the opening speech. Whilst pointing out Georgia’s pressing need to become a part of the EU, he emphasized that there is also a need for the country to strengthen economic ties with Oriental powers. Dr. Tsereteli said, “There is growing trade between India and other parts of the world, and I would like to see more trade opportunities between India and Georgia; officials from both countries are focusing on this case; it is always good to have diversified access to the market and resources. Georgia Caucasus and Central Asia hold an essential role in North-South trade as well as East-West trade and India’s engagement in this process is significant.”
A prominent speaker who came in next was Dr. Thomas Abraham. He is the founder of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), a non partisan, secular global organization engaged in promoting the well being of people of Indian origin and enhancing cooperation and communication between Indian Diaspora around the world. He has been actively advocating the interests of India’s global diaspora, including in the US where he resides. He said, “America’s biggest import from India is the brain power which can not be quantified as it runs in billions..” He emphasizes the growing role of the small and medium enterprises that people of Indian origin have started in recent times and the huge potential these enterprises hold to contribute to the host country economy and the global economy at large. Further he said, “says that Georgia should open up its universities for professional education to Indian students.” He meant that Georgia should actively open up its universities to Indian students for different professional courses, such as engineering, etc., other than medical studies.
Achal Molhotra, former Indian Ambassador to Armenia and Georgia and a well known scholar, shared his insightful thoughts on how the people and businesses from the two countries should engage in the post-Covid-19 times. Amb. Malhotra said “Establishing diplomatic relations between Georgia and India is essential however it has not been moving fast there have been many factors and one of the factors was Georgia’s foreign policy joining the EuroAtlantic structure as well as Georgia’s tense relations with Russia, while India has good relations with Russia. However there is a desire from both parties to come together and develop relations. It is important to create awareness about the potential that exists, considering that Georgia has access to European and a lot other markets, it is an opportunity for Indians businessmen to establish their business could be manufacturing, value addition. However, access to Georgia is a problem for Indians. Tourism industries both In India and Georgia should persuade their government and work on this matter.”
Manish Kumar, Deputy Director International at Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) — the largest body of businesses and industries in the country, also remained an active participant throughout the event. Kumar led a 12 member business delegation on behalf of CII that visited Georgia in September, 2017. He said, “We (meaning CII) are committed to bring private sector movement in India-Georgia relations. India has a lot of bilateral intergovernmental commission and encouragement with Georgia, however there is a lack of business to business participation between the parties in this issue. CII is trying its best to attract capacity and make the private sector in India aware of investment opportunities in Georgia. The country has tremendous potential in many sector including in new technologies and the IT sector. Both parties need to cooperate in this sector and it will create a win-win situation.”
Annie Vashakmadze, Head of International Relations at Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) — a counterpart to India’s CII in Georgia and essentially the biggest trade body in the country, said, “The World top 500 Startup’s Acceleration Program entered Georgia this year, which is a significant achievement. There are several innovation hubs and centers in Georgia where anybody can come up with a startup idea and prototype it. And all these processes are conducted with Silicon Valley experts. We have IT training programs that license stakeholders. India is among our bilateral partners.”
Anka Makharadze, Manager at Lopota Lake Resort and Spa- a high-end luxury resort in Babaneuri, Georgia, mentioned the concern as other speakers and said, “Number of Citizens of India deported from Georgia is really high which is a really big issue. She also added that her hotel was able to arrange the visas for a group of Indians who came to Georgia right at the start of Covid-19 pandemic.
Beka Dalakishvili, CEO of Kernel, which has recently entered the Indian Market His company is an all-in-one invoicing solution and professional financial tools platform for small businesses and freelancers, which He said, “Tax system is very simple and basic in Georgia compared to India where the tax system is quite advanced, which allows small businesses to hardly operate in India. Our plan is to replicate what we have done in Georgia, in India , we are launching our product next week.”
Kristine Korkotashvili , an intern at Caucasus-Asia Center who worked as an event manager for this event, made a formal presentation on a topic- “Can Georgia be the next Estonia?”. Ms. Korkotashvili said, “The comparison of Georgia and Estonia is both interesting and relevant. Both have a history of being part of the Soviet Union, but their paths diverged as Estonia grew rapidly. One of the most important reasons is the establishment of E-Estonia, in which electronic services are applied in practically every area, including banking, medicine, and education. Georgia should follow Estonia’s lead and begin incorporating more innovative approaches into its agenda.”
The event ended on a good note where all participants offered full support to the center’s mission of building close people and business ties between Georgia and India. The tangible takeaways from the event include setting up a ‘Georgia-India Investments Advisory Committee’, an independent body with members from among the participants at the event and people who have been working on aspects of Georgia-India relationship, to advise public and private ventures for scaling up cross-border investments, Caucasus-Asia Center collaborating with British Teaching University in Georgia to start a India studies course and jointly doing this event in Tbilisi in 2022, etc.
In essence, this coming together of the diverse stakeholders has acted as a catalyst to reinvigorating the bilateral relationship. Their commitment to work towards strengthening the ties in 2021 and beyond ensures that this historic relationship is now adapting to the changing global realities, primarily on the economic front. Treading in the new direction, Georgia and India are well positioned to become “strategic economic partners” in the near-future.
[The article is drafted by the Caucasus-Asia Center team.]
