Tbilisi Silk Road Forum Attracts Global Leaders

The 2023 Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, the first since the pandemic, was attended by 2,300 delegates from 63 countries on October 26–27. Named after the ancient commercial artery joining East and West, the biennial gathering is the key platform for international partners driving the expansion of the alternative Middle Corridor trading passage between China and the EU.

Welcoming them to the ornate Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that the nation “serves eight landlocked countries as a gateway between Europe and Asia,” and that its investment in the Middle Corridor’s infrastructure would boost economic growth across Central Asia.

Garibashvili highlighted Georgia’s commitment to key transport and energy projects, such as the deepwater Black Sea port at Anaklia, modernized road and rail networks, Tbilisi’s world-class international airport and a submarine electricity cable beneath the Black Sea that will provide a new source of clean energy for Europe. “All of these transformational projects will bring additional jobs, economic growth and prosperity to our people and the region at large,” said Garibashvili.

Highlighting Georgia’s “remarkable economic growth,” he noted that GDP had risen by 10% in both 2021 and 2022, and by 7% in the first eight months of 2023. “In just three years, GDP per capita has nearly doubled,” he said.

The 2023 forum heard that Georgia’s commitment to digital connectivity, clean energy transit and modern transportation makes it the ideal commercial and financial hub for the Middle Corridor. The forum held panel discussions on key themes including electronic commerce, financial technologies, digital connectivity, energy security, maritime trade and future tourism.

Strong support for Georgia and the Middle Corridor

Addressing the opening ceremony, Dritan Abazović, Prime Minister of Montenegro, described Georgia as an inspiration to nations that sought to be regional hubs and attract foreign investment, saying, “We are looking on Georgia like a good example.”

Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, said the forum was hosting an “important discussion” and stressed the value of open roads in Central Asia. “The Silk Road crossed through many countries and settlements, and these roads were used to create human, cultural, economic and political ties,” he said.

Ali Asadov, Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, highlighted that, historically, Azerbaijan and Georgia have been important links along the Silk Road, connecting East and West. “Both countries played significant roles in trade and economic development, as well as in strengthening the cultural exchanges between Europe and Asia. This tradition is maintained and, of course, Azerbaijan and Georgia again became the first countries to support this concept implying the restoration of the Great Silk Road,” he said.

In her keynote, Roberta Casali, Vice President for Finance and Risk Management at the Asian Development Bank, spoke of the “enormous untapped potential” of the Central Asia region as a “land bridge connecting some of the world’s largest economic centers with underdeveloped trade routes.” The Middle Corridor, she said, had an “important role” in enhancing regional connectivity and strengthening supply chain resilience.

During an opening panel session entitled “Trade4Future,” Erin Elizabeth McKee, USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, said that the US was supporting Georgia in “becoming a key player in the Middle Corridor” by helping to digitalize its maritime infrastructure to boost Georgia’s role as a regional trade hub. USAID is creating a green transportation program in Georgia that will reduce carbon emissions and provide skilled employees for Georgian transport and logistics companies.

Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, spoke of the immense value of the UAE’s new trading partnership with Georgia, which has free-trade agreements with 46 countries and access to 2.3 billion consumers. “We are building very solid trade numbers,” he said of the 42% increase in bilateral trade in the first half of 2023. “It shows the synergy between both nations.”

Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, described the 2017 Joint Action Plan signed by Georgia and the six Gulf states as a “very important document that will definitely pave the way for our relationship.”

Tomislav Momirović, Serbia’s Minister of Domestic and Foreign Trade, said protectionist policies were harmful to developing economies. “You have to have an open market and be attractive for investors from abroad, and have a decent legal framework and a stable currency,” he said.

A shared vision of cooperation

Advances in shipping infrastructure and capacity will be crucial to the Middle Corridor’s success as the importance of this trade route increases. Greater trade connectivity not only facilitates transportation, but also drives economic growth, creates employment opportunities and reinforces investments. “Given Georgia’s role in bridging Europe and Asia, transport connectivity has always been high on our agenda,” said Levan Davitashvili, Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.

“[From] a global supply chain point of view, I see great potential and great benefit in the Middle Corridor,” pointed out Kitack Lim, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization.

In a panel session on transition in the maritime sector, Neville Bissett, CEO of Qatar-based QTerminals, said “the trick” for the Middle Corridor’s success is for governments on the route to be aligned and “put in place protocols that allow the free movement of goods.”

State Secretary Adrian George Foghis of Romania’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure emphasized his country’s commitment to investing in the Port of Constanta to increase Middle Corridor traffic with Georgia via the Black Sea. “Romania sees Georgia as a strategic partner,” he said.

Charles J. Cormier, Infrastructure Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank, spoke of the importance of cooperation and of countries having a “shared vision and shared backbone” in international projects. “In these projects, you see that the whole is better than the sum of its parts, meaning every country benefits by having shared opportunities,” he said. He noted that the bank is conducting economic analysis on the “critical” Black Sea submarine cable project.

Forum focus on different industries

In a panel discussion on energy diversification, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, praised the Black Sea cable project as “this fantastic idea of delivering renewable energy,” and said it was helping to bring the Caucasus region “into our energy mix.”

The forum placed a strong focus on the importance of blockchain and fintech in the infrastructure of rising economies. Blockchain is “an amazing technology,” said James Wallis, Vice President of Ripple. “It has the ability to do a lot of things better than you could do them before, and the ability to do new things that you can’t do with the old infrastructure.”

Smaller nations can become fintech hubs and create “an enormous amount of jobs” by focusing on key verticals, said Pat Patel, Executive Director of Singapore-based fintech company Elevandi. “Play to your strengths,” he suggested.

Entrepreneur and investor Vlad Martynov, Head of the Ethereum Competence Center, spoke of Georgia’s potential to attract the 30 million “digital nomads” who are early adopters of new technologies. “For Georgia, it is a unique opportunity to create an environment to attract these people, to attract their economic value and their talent in high-tech,” he said.

“A lot of people don’t realize that Georgia is further ahead on the digital transformation journey than a lot of the countries in the EU,” Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, told the forum. Holding up a bottle of Georgian wine, he told delegates, “This wine bottle exists on the blockchain.” He praised Georgia for “taking some strategic bets” on fintech, and said the adoption of blockchain by the National Wine Agency of Georgia was “inspiring to see,” and increased trust for international consumers who bought the product.

Georgia is “so interesting” for the future of fintech, said Salim Dhanani, cofounder and CEO of digital bank Pave Bank, because it understands that financial infrastructure is “completely intertwined” in the processes of building roads, railways and energy pipelines. “When we look at Georgia, it is taking what you would often consider a last-mile problem and trying to solve it up front.”

Increased trade and economic growth bring more visitors. Philippe Merlo, Director of the European Green Sky Directorate at Eurocontrol, said traffic growth was the “main challenge today” for air traffic control, and that “in Georgia, the traffic has doubled.” He said Georgia—along with Italy, Spain and Portugal—was seeing tourist numbers that were “much above the average.”

An ideal destination to facilitate trade

The second day of the forum focused on investment opportunities in Georgia. During the panel discussion “Boost Investments by Policy-Driven Decisions,” Yann Guinard, Vice President of Central and Eastern Europe at EDF International Division, emphasized the utility’s plans for Georgia. “Georgia has been on our development map for quite a long time, mainly due to its very significant potential of clean energy generation, and also its ideal positioning in the region to facilitate cross-border energy trading,” he said.

Georgia is “a bit of an unusual case” asserted Alexander Benard, Co-Head of emerging-markets investment firm Cerberus Frontier. “Yes, it is an emerging market, but many of the features of Georgia are actually far more on par with what you would expect in a developed economy.”

Benard said Georgia had banks that were London-listed, and “world-class institutions.” Georgian government officials are “very professional, capable people, English-speaking and steeped in the economic philosophies you would be more used to seeing in Europe or the US,” he said. “Across the board, it’s a high level of sophistication, ease of doing business—all the indicators that you see on the rankings. They are true—we see it and we feel it when we do business here.”

The second half of the day was devoted to a series of bilateral business meetings. Delegates organized and attended nearly 250 B2B meetings held across the event’s venues to discuss potential opportunities for cooperation.