Tatyana Gracheva

As Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Irakli Nadareishvili told the seventh Hongqiao International Economic Forum in China on Wednesday, the Government’s economic policy should prioritize traditional sectors’ transformation of the Georgian economy through artificial intelligence.
Nadareishvili highlighted during his speech at the Forum that the use of artificial intelligence was in the process of industrialisation, and Georgia was commited to foster innovation and technological development as part of its broader strategy for sustainable economic growth.
According to the official, significant progress had been made by the Government in modernising its economic sectors. Georgia was positioned as a “regional hub” for technology and IT companies, with over 150 companies now operating in the country.
These businesses employ more than 10,000 local and foreign specialists, which has dramatically altered the country’s export structure. Nadareishvili said that IT services exports reached an unprecedented figure for Georgia of $900 million in 2023.
The Government’s strategy for AI and its integration into various sectors of the economy was emphasised by the Deputy Minister. He also highlighted that it was important to maintain competitiveness in an increasingly digital world and added that “more than just the right infrastructure and business-friendly tax laws” were required.
Efforts of the Government and Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency in creating a “developed innovative startup ecosystem”, which had been supported by the establishment of and the launch of nine technology parks across the country, were also noted by Nadareishvili.
He told the forum that the implementation of the largest and most ambitious project – Kutaisi technology hub [in the country’s west], combining an interactive science and technology museum, a startup accelerator, an international IT school, various innovative laboratories, and, most importantly, a cutting-edge data centre focused on advancing AI research and implementation, was started this year.
As he pointed out, implementing artificial intelligence across healthcare, education, agriculture, biotechnology, public services, and ultimately, in business and the economy would be the main focus of the works at the Kutaisi technology hub.
Around 40 companies showcasing their products and services across three distinct pavilions were included in the Georgian delegation, supported by Enterprise Georgia, the state agency promoting entrepreneurship, investment and exports.
NH Logistics GEO has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Georgia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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According to the central bank, NBS, Serbia’s current account deficit widened to 2.46 billion euro ($2.66 billion) in the first eight months of the year from 664 million euro in the prior-year period.
Figures posted on the NBS website earlier this month show that the deficit in trade of goods rose by an annual 20% to 4.9 billion euro in January-August, while the surplus in trade of services fell down by 17% to 1.6 billion euro.
The increase of the gap in primary income attained 11% on the year and finally reached 2.69 billion euro in the first eight month of 2024, while the downfall of the surplus in secondary income equaled to 10% (3.57 billion euro).
Serbia’s current account gap fell from 556 million euro (August 2023) to 64 million euro (August 2024).
An improved energy balance and robust growth in manufacturing and services exports narrowed the country’s current account deficit to 1.81 billion euro in 2023 from 4.16 billion euro in 2022. Last year’s deficit equaled to 2.6% of GDP.
According to NBS governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic, the current account deficit will be trending at around 4–5% of GDP, sufficient to ensure the country’s external sustainability, this year and in the medium term, due to the anticipated pick-up in the investment cycle and the associated import of equipment and intermediate goods.
NH Logistics SER has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Serbia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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Two offices of Serbia’s chamber of commerce are opened in China
According to Serbia’s chamber of commerce (CCIS), two new offices have been opened in Beijing and Changsha, the Hunan province’s capital.
As Marko Cadez, CCIS president, said in a press release on Saturday, new opportunities for the placement of Serbian products on the Chinese market and cooperation with Chinese companies have been opened by the free trade agreement between Serbia and China, that was signed in October 2023 and entered into force on July 1, 2024. 10,412 Serbian products and 8,930 Chinese products are included in it.
According to Cadez, Serbian companies will be supported to start new businesses with Chinese partners or advance existing ones by new offices.
A representative CCIS office was opened in Shanghai four years ago.
Data from Serbia’s statistics office for 2023 report that the volume of trade between Serbia and China reached 5.65 billion euro ($6.1 billion), while exports from Serbia attained 1.15 billion euro, and imports from China at 4.5 billion euro.

NH Logistics SER has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Serbia and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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