Georgia and Serbia kick off Free Trade Agreement negotiations

Georgia and Serbia on Wednesday kicked off their first round of Free Trade Agreement negotiations, with Georgian deputy economy minister Genadi Arveladze meeting his Serbian counterpart, Olivera Jocić, to focus on strengthening bilateral economic ties.

During the meeting, the delegations discussed a wide range of issues, noting significant progress already in the first round.

Arveladze said that the negotiations were progressing constructively and expressed confidence that they would be successfully completed within the third quarter of this year.

“We expect the negotiations with the Serbian side to be successfully completed within the third quarter of this year. The Free Trade Agreement will contribute to the growth of bilateral trade and investment, create new opportunities for businesses, and strengthen economic partnerships. In addition, Georgian businesses will gain access to a 6.6 million-consumer market, where they will be able to export products under a free trade regime, cooperate with local businesses, and attract investments, which will ultimately have a positive impact on the economic relations between the two countries”, he said.

The discussions covered key areas including trade in goods and services, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, digital trade, telecommunications, intellectual property rights, trade defence measures, dispute settlement mechanisms, and legal and institutional issues.

The parties also confirmed their commitment to maintaining a constructive and results-oriented negotiation process.

It was noted that Georgia has significant experience in successfully concluding free trade agreement negotiations within a short timeframe, which creates positive expectations for the ongoing process with Serbia.