ICC Georgia holds 5th Consultative Board

27.02.2014. Yesterday, 26 February 2014, the National Committee of ICC Georgia held its 5th Consultative Board meeting at The Holiday Inn in Tbilisi.  Mr. Fady Asly, Chairman of ICC, welcomed the members of the ICC Executive, ICC Youth, Consultative boards and special guests.  The program featured a presentation of DCFTA Implementation by Mr. Nikoloz Khundzakishvili, Chairman of the DCFTA Implementation Commission, and included an overview of the economy and investment climate from the perspectives of ICC (Mr. Fady Asly), Business Association Georgia (Dr. Soso Pkhakadze), American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia (Ms. Sarah Williamson), and the Georgian Bar Association (Mr. Zaza Bibliashvili).  Ms. Teona Lavrelashvili, Chairwoman of the Youth Parliament and ex officio, ICC board member, remarked on the highlights of her trip to the United Nations in New York and US State Department and Congress in Washington, D.C., partially organized by ICC Georgia. Following the presentations, the Consultative Board had the opportunity for questions and remarks.

Afterwards, a reception in honor of the Consultative Board was held with attendees including ICC youth members, partners from the business sector, distinguished guests and the diplomatic corps. The reception was opened by the Honorable Bruno Balvanera, Regional Director of the EBRD, who provided a summary of the ICC’s Consultative Board Meeting.  Mr. Fady Asly, Chairman of ICC Georgia introduced the newest Consultative Board member, H.E. Mr. Z. Levent Gümrükçü, Ambassador of Turkey.

The ICC Consultative Board is the only body of its kind in the business community in Georgia, comprised of the ICC Executive Board, ICC Youth Board and the ambassadors of France, Germany, the United Kingdom (Observer), Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Georgia, the UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia (Observer), the World Bank Country Director, the Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the IMF Resident Representative (Observer). The purpose of the Consultative Board is to bring together members of the diplomatic and business communities on a quarterly basis to discuss the business and investment climate in the country.  The issues raised are subsequently advocated to the government through a multi-pronged approach by ICC stakeholders to effect positive change in the business and investment climate.

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in the world that includes hundreds of thousands of businesses and chambers of commerce.  ICC consults regularly at the global level with the G8, G20, the World Bank, WTO, WCO and the UN. In Georgia the ICC includes more than ten major business organizations in addition to corporate and university members.  The ICC Youth Project consists of over 300 members and is aimed at exposing students and young professionals to best business practices and providing them with business-relating training.

ICC press release