Ambassador’s Welcome Speech

Greetings to our Embassy website visitors!

It is my great honor and privilege to represent Georgia as an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Korea and to have the possibility to contribute to the deepening of bilateral ties between our countries.

I am delighted to present to you our official website, through which we aim to connect and provide information to our citizens, as well as to those who are interested in matters related to Georgia-Korea relations and the important topics of our bilateral agenda.

The year 2022 marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Korea. During this period, significant progress and outcomes have been achieved between the two countries, both in terms of political and trade-economic cooperation, as well as in deepening of people-to-people contacts and promotion of tourism.

In recent years, we have seen an intensification of fruitful cooperation with the Republic of Korea. The legal framework was further consolidated as number of important agreements were signed. The Feasibility Study on the Free Trade Agreement between Georgia and Korea was successfully concluded, which is an important step forward in terms of launching of official negotiations next year. Negotiations on the Agreement on “Protection and Promotion of Investments” between the two countries are in the final stage, conclusion of which will significantly contribute to the attraction of investments, the deepening of contacts between the private sector as well as the movement of capital. It should be highlighted that the interest in the tourism potential, culture and history of Georgia has increased sharply among Korean society. Awareness about Georgian wine is also on the rise, which in the future gives us the reason to believe that we will have tangible results in terms of exports growth.

Herewith, I would like express my sincere gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Korea for the help and support rendered to Georgia over the years, especially during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

In order to further enhance our ties, I hope that soon Korea will introduce visa free regime for Georgian citizens, in reciprocity to Georgia’s decision to abolish visas for the Korean citizens, which will significantly contribute to increased cooperation in the field of tourism.  Similarly, we look forward to the opening of a full-fledged Embassy of Korea in Tbilisi, which will further deepen bilateral relations.

I would like to emphasize that while the work of the Embassy of Georgia towards achieving these goals is important and we will spare no efforts to that end, the efforts and contribution of each of you is equally significant and will have great impact on reaching our common goals. Therefore, I hope for your active involvement and support in this important endeavor.

Thank you for your interest in the work of the Embassy of Georgia to the Republic of Korea!

Sincerely,

H.E. Mr. Tarash Papaskua

Ambassador of Georgia to the Republic of Korea