NEWS

The president of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, today encouraged Catalan businessmen to invest in their country, which has presented as a nest of opportunities due to its low taxes, the lack of bureaucracy and its geographical situation as a link between Asia and Europe.

Saakashvili has participated in the Europa Forum conference cycle during a visit to Barcelona, ​​in which he intends to publicize the business opportunities of Georgia for Catalan companies, as well as strengthen political ties in his bid to integrate in the future in the European Union.

The privileged geographic location of Georgia, at a crossroads between Asia and Europe, has been used by Saakashvili to try to convince the present businessmen and representatives of the Generalitat about the profitability of investing in areas such as tourism, energy and infrastructure development. roads and railways.

Among the advantages of these investments, has cited the absence of bureaucracy, low taxes and "low" political corruption, after admitting that it was one of the main problems of the past.

"We are from the three least corrupt economies in Europe and we have controlled political corruption," he said, after stating that in 2008 his country received 2,000 million euros in foreign investment.

Saakashvili has acknowledged that the conflict with Russia over the invasion of some of its territories last summer creates some uncertainty, although he stressed that his efforts are focused on "showing Russia that we will move forward and that it will not be able to undermine this".

"Russia has big problems with its economy and can not afford to be aggressive, it has a systemic crisis of its entire economy, especially because of the fall in oil prices, its economy is falling apart," he said.

The maximum leader of Georgia is planning to make an official visit to Madrid next May, in the context of collaboration in the face of an eventual integration of the Caucasian country in the European Union in a future not yet determined.

In this line, has stressed that Georgia is committed to a future in Europe but has also admitted that it maintains fluid relations with the US and that NATO "is very important to us."

The president of the Parliament, Ernest Benach, who has presented Saakashvili at the event, has defended the need for Catalonia to "be an interlocutor" in the international political arena, in which he has framed the visit of the Georgian president to Barcelona.

In this line, he assured that Georgia and Catalonia, where 4,000 people of Georgian nationality reside, "have the opportunity now to add synergies".