Page 26 - GEORptSep19

FDI in Georgia by sector [‘000 $]
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
y/y
vs. 5y avg
Total, o/w
1,020.5
1,817.7
1,665.6
1,565.8
1,894.5
1,232.4
-35%
-23%
Equity
534.3
1,151.9
1,281.5
1,798.2
1,187.9
699.9
-41%
-41%
Reinvested earnings
276.5
322.9
157.7
334.1
657.5
558.8
-15%
60%
Debt instruments
209.8
342.9
226.3
-566.5
49.1
-26.2
-153%
-150%
Source: NSI of Georgia, bne Intellinews
5.3 FTAs
Iran, North Ossetia hold trade meeting in Tehran
Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) last week hosted a meeting with a visiting Russian delegation from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, the organisation said in a press release.
The people of Ossetia have many historical and cultural commonalities with Iran. The Ossetians descended from Iranian tribes who spread across their region, and they speak a form of the Iranian language – however, unlike Iranians, they are primarily Christian.
Iran – which has agreed a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) – is looking to EEU member states including Armenia and Russia to help boost its shortfall in imported food products which have historically arrived via the country’s southern ports but have dropped off significantly due to the US sanctions regime targeted at Tehran.
The Ossetian delegation was headed by CCI head Kazbek Tuganov who was accompanied by managing directors of several grain production firms. Agricultural, food and livestock products accounted for 74% of Iran's overall exports to Russia in 2018. And these products accounted for 65% of Russia's total exports to Iran.
Iranian customs data show Iran traded 2.67mn tonnes of non-oil commodities worth $1.62bn with Russia during the 2018/2019 Persian year (ended March 20), registering 41.48% and 59.13% year on year growth rates in tonnage and value, respectively.
The meeting with the North Ossetians comes weeks after South Ossetia, a territory that has broken away from Georgia with Russia’s backing, attempted soft diplomacy with Tehran, Shahr Online reported on July 29.
South Ossetia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Medoyev said in an interview with the Persian-language news website that he hoped to boost relations with Iran, but he did not discuss how he would get around the blockade from Georgia which does not accept South Ossetia's self-declared independent status.
26 GEORGIA Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com