According to the Embassy of Georgia in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan is Georgia's strategic partner and one of its top investors. The development of trade and economic relations has always been a priority for the government of Georgia.
The Embassy told local media outlets that Georgia has an advantageous geographical location, free investment climate, simplified tax system, and customs administration.
The body says that Georgia has made significant progress in the fields, such as human rights, transparency, macroeconomic stability, and anti-corruption efforts. A special focus has also been placed on the fact that political pluralism has received increased support in the country; the government is corruption-free and focuses on the development of business, with the enterprise survey by the World Bank clearly testifying to this fact. Plus, Georgia is on the list of ten top least corrupt nations worldwide.
The Embassy explains that the World Bank conducts an audit in business, along with the partners of the World Bank Group (the EBRD, EIB, and DFID) once in four years. The audit aims to examine the business environment in countries that play an important role in the private sector. The audit covers all geographic regions and hundreds of thousands of small, medium, and large private companies. In Georgia, the latest audit was performed from March of 2019 to January of 2020, with 581 local companies involved in it.
Per the Embassy of Georgia to the Republic of Azerbaijan, the corruption survey questionnaire showed that Georgia is the best worldwide: it was included in the top 10 least corrupt countries out of 144. According to the survey, the number of private companies in Georgia which have demanded bribes at least once totals 1.3% out of the companies involved in the survey, while this figure reaches 10% in European and Central Asian countries, and 12 % in countries with average revenues.
The body also emphasizes that Georgia's credit rating has been BB for two years in a row, with Fitch and S&P putting Georgia on the list of 20 top countries with average revenues.
Simplified procedures for starting a business in Georgia are annually introduced via doing business ranking determined by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). In 2020, Georgia was included on the list of 7 best countries, out of 189, according to this ranking.
The Embassy says that regular effective, and successful reforms help Georgia show better results in global rankings. Trade liberalization and integration into the leading world markets are Georgia's ultimate trump cards per the body.
Georgia has signed free trade agreements with the UK, Turkey, China, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as the agreement with the EU on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.
According to the Embassy, Georgia's success and its positions in global rankings make it an attractive country for foreign investors and its strategic partner Azerbaijan.
