TBILISI, April 1 (Itar-Tass) – The Georgian delegation will visit Moscow on Monday for the negotiations with the Russian agricultural watchdog to resume the Georgian agrarian exports in Russia. The Georgian delegation includes six officials headed by chief of the National Food Agency of the Georgian Agriculture Ministry Zurab Chekurashvili.
“Russia is ready to discuss with the Georgian delegation all the issues, which concern the process of resuming the Georgian agrarian exports in Russia,” the National Food Agency of Georgia said. The Georgian agrarian exports envisages the supplies to Russia of vegetables, fruits, greens, cheese, honey and etc.
Tbilisi “is optimistic about the launch of the negotiations with Russia over the resumption of the supplies of Georgian agrarian products,” Chekurashvili said before. In his view, Georgia has “a large potential in terms of the supplies of agrarian products on the Russian market.” “The Russian market is traditional for Georgia, Russian consumers know and value our products, their quality and taste,” he said.
In his words, the negotiations “will focus on a comeback of Georgian produce of animal and vegetable origin on the Russian market, as well as all the technical issues, which are related with sanitary and phytosanitary control.”
In the last few months Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili repeatedly noted that “the imposition of the restrictions on the imports of the Georgian products (2006–2007) in Russia was mainly caused by undiplomatic statements of President Mikhail Saakashvili, who aggravated the situation so much that the country lost its opportunity to brings its agrarian products in Russia.”