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Strategic partnership of Baku and Tbilisi at crossroads of Eurasia

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Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili chose Baku as the destination of his first foreign trip since taking office. It shows the importance of the alliance and strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as continuity, trust, and a shared commitment to regional ownership of development and security agendas.
During the official visit, the both Presidents emphasized friendship, brotherhood, historical bonds, strategic alignment between the two nations, mutual respect and consideration of each other’s national interests.
For a long time, Azerbaijan and Georgia have been leading joint projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. They want to change the energy and transit map of Eurasia and to turn the South Caucasus into a globally significant transport and energy hub.
Notably, Georgian seaports and transport corridors like the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route) give Azerbaijan access to Europe. This position makes the two countries pivotal players in East–West connectivity. This role can be expanded even more due to the development of Alat Port and modernization of Georgian port infrastructure.
Also, a common stance on protecting sovereignty and national interests amid increasing foreign interference and double standards was emphasized by both presidents. Georgia and Azerbaijan promote a regional model of development based on mutual respect and strategic autonomy to resist the pressures that disrupt traditional values or destabilize domestic politics.
Nevertheless, the both leaders worry about the changing security dynamics in the South Caucasus. Luckily, the progress in the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace negotiations provide an opportunity for lasting stability and integration in the region.
Moreover, Azerbaijan’s assertive regional diplomacy and Georgia’s declared policy of neutrality and its offer to facilitate peace processes complement each other.
Generally speaking, Azerbaijan and Georgia have laid the foundation for a partnership that not only serves their national interests but also offers a framework for regional cooperation and independence by aligning on infrastructure, trade, energy, and values. These two countries are co-architects of a new South Caucasus, able to unite their voices on critical issues—from territorial integrity to economic resilience. They prove that strong, principled partnerships can define the future of entire regions.
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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Ukraine’s exports of titanium-containing ores slash drastically in 3 months

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As the Ukrainian State Customs Service reported on Tuesday, the country’s exports of titanium-containing ores and concentrate reduced in physical terms by 88.1% year-on-year in January-March 2025 (to 277 tonnes) and by 87.1% in value (to $496,000).
Uzbekistan (35.61%), Turkey (35.01%) and Egypt (29.38%) were the main exporters.
China exported to Ukraine 22 tonnes of titanium-containing ore worth $37,000 in the first quarter of 2025.
According to reports, the slash of Ukraine exports of titanium-containing ores in physical terms attained 37.5% year-on-year in 2024 (7,284 tonnes). The decline of exports of titanium-containing ores and concentrate in value was 40% ($11.654 million). Turkey (62.82%), Egypt (7.38%) and Poland (6.93%) were the main importers.
Ukraine’s import of titanium-containing ore attained 314 tonnes and was worth $492,000. In 2024, 87.78% of it came from China, 6.11% from Vietnam and 6.11% from Senegal.
Meanwhile, experts noted the difference between the supplies of titanium-containing ores from companies and the statistics by the State Customs Service. Nevertheless, the State Customs Service referred to restrictions imposed on the volume of export-import operations and didn’t provide the complete statistics on exports of titanium raw materials.
The State Customs Service said that the statistical exports from Ukraine included these supplies, but the statistics of foreign trade published by the State Customs Service did not reflect them. As the regulations say, when protecting data for confidentiality purposes, they report in full any information that they deem confidential at the next, higher level of aggregation of data on the goods.
In accordance with the corresponding order, the list of data containing sensitive information in the State Customs Service includes the information on customs clearance and movement of goods subject to export control across the Ukrainian customs border.
Mainly the United Mining and Chemical Company PJSC now mines the titanium-containing ores in Ukraine. It manages the Volnogorsk Mining and Metals Plant (VGMK), located in the Dnepropetrovsk region, and the Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant (IGOK), based in the Zhitomir region. Other important mining companies are the Mezhirichinsky GOK LLC and the Valki-Ilmenit LLC, both located in Irshansk, Zhitomir region. Also, a mining and processing plant was built by the Dnepr-based Velta production and commercial firm at the Birzulovskoye deposit with an annual capacity of 240,000 tonnes of ilmenite concentrate.
NH Logistics UKR has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Ukraine and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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31.03.2025. – External trade, February 2025

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The total external trade in the Republic of Serbia for the period January – February 2025 reached USD 11533.9 million (an increase of 0.1% compared to the same period last year).
Nevertheless, the value of exports decreased by 5.1% (0.6% in Euros) and attained USD 4853.5 million (EUR 4675.1 million), while the value of imports increased by 4.2% (9.0% in Euros) and reached USD 6680.4 million (EUR 6435.0 million) compared to the same period last year.
The increase of the deficit was 40.8% (47.0% in Euros) (USD 1826.9 million/ EUR 1759.8) in relation to the same period last year.
The decline of the export – import ratio was 79.8% compared to the same period last year.
56.1% of total external trade was accounted for European Union member countries, with which Serbia has signed agreements on free trade.
The CEFTA countries were Serbia’s second major partner. The exports of electricity, cereals and produces thereof, oil and oil derivatives, medical and pharmaceutical products and beverages gave gained surplus in external trade equal to USD 477.1 million. Serbia’s exports in the referent period reached USD 745.4 million (EUR 717.8 million), while the imports were USD 268.3 million (EUR 258.7 million). The export– import ratio was 277.8 % (surplus amounted to EUR 459.1 million and export – import ratio equalled 277.5%).
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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Blocking of Ukrainian wood products’ shipments by Polish customs

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A complaint has come from members of the European Business Association (EBA) in Ukraine against the Polish customs that practically blocked woodworking industry products since March 15.
As the preliminary information of the EBA reports, the Polish side is stopping shipments to verify the origin of raw materials used by Ukrainian manufacturers, particularly to ensure compliance with sanctions. Nevertheless, the member companies of the EBA’s Woodworking and Furniture Committee have not got any specific claims regarding document discrepancies or violations from the Polish customs authorities.
As Ukrainian businesses claim, they have produced all the customs clearance documents required by Polish customs authorities, including supply contracts with branches of the Forests of Ukraine state company, delivery notes, logging tickets, certificates of origin, and other essential documents confirming the legality and transparency of their operations.
Nevertheless, despite all the required documents confirming the legality and origin of the raw materials, they continue to delay and block shipments, and the companies have to pay extra costs because of downtime and having to adjust their routine logistics chains.
As a result, production can be shut down due to prolonged shipment blockages, export contracts can be lost, mass layoffs, and a shortfall in tax revenues at all levels are also possible.
Consequently, the Ukrainian government, the Foreign Ministry, and the Economy Ministry should urgently help probe the reasons behind the blockages and find ways to settle the problem.
As the EBA pointed out, in 2023 and 2024 Polish customs authorities already caused a significant loss of European market clients for Ukrainian producers and seriously affected the competitiveness of domestic enterprises by similar actions.

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

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Commodity exchange is the aim of enhancing cooperation between Belarus and Serbia

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As Aleksandr Bashliy, Head of foreign economic relations at BUCE, said during a seminar held in Belgrade on 25 March with support of the Belarusian Embassy in Serbia, The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) intends to expand cooperation with Serbian business communities, including through brokerage partnership.
During the seminar, Serbian companies were exploring the possibility of using exchange mechanisms to facilitate export-import transactions with Belarusian enterprises.
Also, Aleksandr Bashliy said that it would become possible to exchange trade between the two countries and to reach a brand-new level due to accrediting a brokerage company in Serbia to represent BUCE’s interests and facilitate the involvement of Serbian business communities in the Belarusian exchange platform.
According to him, Serbia is a key trading and economic partner for Belarus in the Balkans. This is why significant focus is placed on developing cooperation between our countries, including in exchange trading. As a result, the exchange trade between Belarus and Serbia increased by 37 times last year and by ten times in January-February 2025. to Nevertheless, it needs to enhance the level of Serbian business engagement in trading on BUCE’s platform despite the rapid growth in the exchange trade. However, it is possible to effectively address this matter by accrediting an exchange broker in Serbia, who would not only assist Serbian businesses in participating in trades but also handle payments and organize logistics.
As he pointed out, a local broker would significantly simplify access for Serbian companies to the Belarusian exchange market and diversify the trade structure.
At present, there are only eight accredited Serbian resident companies, which is not enough for better results in mutual trade. A broker would allow Serbian companies to start trading on the exchange platform more quickly, without spending time on paperwork, training and other preparatory activities. 54 brokerage companies, including 21 non-residents from 10 countries were accredited by BUCE as of 25 March 2025.
The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange, one of the largest commodity exchanges in Eastern Europe founded in 2004, organized its first trading session in June 2005. Assistance to Belarusian enterprises with export and foreign companies with entering the Belarusian market is its main function. A wide range of metal, forestry and agricultural products, industrial and consumer goods are sold by BUCE.
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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State Statistics Service reports a 55.6% deficit of Ukraine’s foreign trade in Jan 2025

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According to Ukrainian media, Ukraine’s foreign trade deficit in goods grew up by 55.6% (from $1.5 billion in January 2024 to $2.34 billion in January 2025).
As the State Statistics Service said, exports of goods from Ukraine fell down by 11.5% year-on-year to $3.18 billion in January 2025, while imports achieved $5.51 billion (8.2% up).
Notably, the decline of Ukraine’s seasonally adjusted exports was $3.11 billion in January 2025 (4.7% month-on-month), while imports reached $6.21 billion (3.4% increase).
$3.1 billion was the seasonally adjusted trade deficit in January 2025.
0.58 (0.71 in January 2024) was the export-import coverage ratio in January 2025.
As the service said, the country conducted foreign trade operations with 189 countries.
NH Logistics UKR has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Ukraine and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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A 15.6% growth of Georgia’s external merchandise trade in January-February 2025

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The amount of the external merchandise trade (excluding non-declared trade) of Georgia equaled to USD 3 567.6 million in January-February2025 (15.6 % higher year-on-year). The exports reached 835.4 million (4.0 % higher), while the imports – USD 2 732.2 million (19.6 % higher). USD 1 896.9 million was the amount of the negative trade balance in the reporting period (53.2 % in external trade turnover).
The top ten trading partners by exports (Kyrgyzstan (USD 166.6 million), Kazakhstan (USD 100.7 million) and Azerbaijan (USD 97.7 million) had the share of 78.7 % in the total exports of Georgia in the reporting period.
The top ten trading partners by imports (the USA (USD 478.3 million), Russia (USD 344.3 million) and Türkiye (USD 337.9 million) had the share of 75.5 percent in the total imports of Georgia in January-February 2025.
The top ten trading partners in the total external trade turnover (the USA (USD 486.9 million), Russia (USD 416.2 million) and Türkiye (USD 384.3 million) had share of 71.9 percent in the total external trade of Georgia in the reporting period.
34.1 percent of total exports was accounted for motor cars in January-February 2025 (the first place in the list of top export items, USD 285.2 million). 4.7 percent of the total exports was accounted for precious metal ores and concentrates (USD 39.7 million). The third place was taken by exports of spirituous beverages (USD 29.4 million, 3.5 percent of the total exports).
Paintings, drawings and pastels (USD 481.1 million, 17.6 percent of the total imports) were the top import commodities in January-February 2025, followed by motor cars (USD 326.8 million, 12.0 percent of imports). Third in the top import commodity list were the petroleum and petroleum oils (USD 202.1 million, 7.4 percent of imports).
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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Georgia is a Transit Corridor in Trade with Central Asia

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An event hosted by the Kazakh-Georgian Economic Union presented the findings of PMCG’s policy paper “Facilitating Trade with Central Asia: Georgia’s Role as a Transit Corridor” on 24 December 2024.
Attendees were guided through the comprehensive document, which offers informed insights into the prospects and potential means of strengthening trade ties between Georgia and Kazakhstan, during proceedings by the founder of the Union, Giorgi Jakhutashvili.
Particularly, the document identified new, potentially profitable products for exchange and underscored Georgia’s pivotal role as a transit corridor for trade to and from Central Asia.
At first, distinguished guests, including the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Georgia and representatives from the private sectors of both counties, discussed opportunities to enhance bilateral trade and economic collaboration.
Consequently, participants had a dialogue about PMCG’s paper and explored actionable steps to deepen trade relations, address the challenges identified in the document, and foster mutually beneficial partnerships.
As a result, stakeholders from both Kazakhstan and Georgia reinforced their shared commitment to expand economic ties.
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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EU gave N. Macedonia and Serbia grant for joint border railway project

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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said that the European Union provided a 2.8 million euro ($3.0 million) grant for the development of a joint border railway station between North Macedonia and Serbia.
Previously, they signed the grant agreement in Skopje on Wednesday. The Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) provided the funds and will finance construction and technical assistance.
According to the statement, the EBRD has already provided a 5 million loan for the project.
As it is planned, the borders will cross each other in North Macedonia’s Tabanovce on the Corridor X rail route. The aims of the project are to revamp the railway station’s existing buildings in line with energy efficient standards and to equip them with photovoltaic panels.
As North Macedonia’s transport minister Aleksandar Nikoloski hopes, with efforts from both sides, the one-stop-shop crossing will pave the way for restoring regular passenger rail service between Skopje and Belgrade.
According to the EBRD, North Macedonia’s railway sector alone got over 340 million euro of investments.
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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Official claims that Ukraine will export no more than 20% of its agricultural output to Europe after it joins EU

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Ukrainian Agri Council head Andrei Dikun said in an interview with local media that 20% of the Ukrainian agricultural sector’s total output will be a maximum that it will export to the European market after Ukraine becomes a European Union member. The rest will go to traditional markets for Ukrainian agricultural products.
However, Dikun denied that the prospect of subsidies from the common EU budget is the main reason why Ukrainian agricultural enterprises want to gain access to the European market. He also mentioned Ukrainian farmers’ concern about the EU’s tough requirements for agricultural technologies. However, the excessively complex rules of the European Green Deal also concern European farmers.
Consequently, Dikun expressed his hope for the change of the Agricultural Policy by new European Parliament. He also mentioned that Ukrainian farmers needed a transitional period to study these rules well enough, to get used to them before following them.
NH Logistics UKR has been offering IOR Importer of Record and EOR Exporter of Record services since 2001 and is a market leader in Ukraine and Eurasia, supporting many clients with their import/export shipments.

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