India-Georgia Bilateral Relations

 


India–Georgia Relations

Historical

There is enough literary and folklore-based evidence to suggest that links between India and Georgia and awareness of India in Georgia have existed from very early times of human civilization. Fables from India’s Panchatantra are believed to have influenced the Georgian folk legends. Those links were further strengthened in medieval ages by missionaries, travelers, and traders. Georgians are said to have served at the Mughal Courts and some of them are believed to have risen to the positions of Governors. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s wife Udaipuri Begum was of Georgian origin. Archeological investigations are at hand in pursuance of the Georgian conviction that the body of their Queen St. Ketevan (who attained martyrdom in 1624 in Shiraz, and has since been elevated to Sainthood) is buried in St. Augustine Tower in Goa (where the Portuguese had managed to transfer her body).

Soviet Era

During the Soviet era, Prime Minister Pt. Nehru visited Tbilisi in 1955 (when he was welcomed in Hindi by the renowned Georgian Indologist and Sanskrit scholar Georgi Akhvledani); Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi visited Tbilisi in the summer of 1976. Sh. Vajpayee visited Georgia in June 1978 as Foreign Minister.

Post-Soviet/ Contemporary Period

Recognition of Georgia and Establishment of Diplomatic Relations Following the declaration of independence by Georgia in the wake of the disintegration of the USSR, India recognized Georgia on 26th December 1991. Formal diplomatic relations were established on 28th September 1992. At present we do not have a Resident Mission in Georgia. Our Ambassador to Armenia with residence in Yerevan (Armenia) is concurrently accredited to Georgia. The First Resident Ambassador of Georgia to India arrived in New Delhi on 25th

February 2010.

INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS

Foreign Office Consultations:

Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations was concluded on 11th May 2000; it was signed by the Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagarishvili and EAM Sh. Jaswant Singh and provides for “regular consultations at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and other agreed levels on international, regional and bilateral issues of mutual interest”. India and Georgia are in the process of establishing Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation which would create a framework for cooperation in diverse areas. There are no irritants in our bilateral relations, which are marked by broad understanding on issues of mutual interest.

Bilateral Agreements

Listed below are the Agreement which India and Georgia have concluded so far:



(i) Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Georgia signed on 28.09.1992 at Moscow.
(ii) Protocol on the Establishment of Consular Relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Georgia signed on 28.09.1992 at Moscow.
(iii) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Georgia on Trade and Economic Cooperation signed on 15.08.1995 at Tbilisi.
(iv) Protocol on Consultations between the Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia signed on 11.05.2000 at New Delhi.
(v) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Georgia on the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation, signed in New Delhi on 30th
March 2010.
(vi) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Georgia on Cooperation in the fields of Culture, Education, Science, Sport and Youth, signed in New Delhi on 30th
March 2010.
(vii) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Georgia on Cooperation in the fields of Science and Technology, signed in New Delhi on 30th
March 2010.

India’s Development Assistance

In December 1994, India had gifted medicines and relief supplies worth Rs. 0.5 mn for refugees and displaced persons from Abkhazia. India’s assistance to Georgia at present is mainly in the field of Human Resource Development. India offers (i) Training slots (20 on average) every year under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation( ITEC); (ii) Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Scholarships to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Indian Universities; and (iii) Kendriya Hindi Sansthan scholarships to study Hindi in India. The Tbilisi State University (TSU) and ICCR have agreed to establish an ICCR Chair of Contemporary Indian Studies at TSU which is expected to become operational in October 2011.

Indian Community

The Indian community is comprised of, by and large, Indian students. Traditionally Indian students have been coming to Georgia to study Medicine at the Tbilisi State Medical University; their numbers have been between 200 to 250 on average. Beginning from early 2010, a large number of Indian school leavers are reported to have arrived in Georgia to pursue several short and medium term professional courses of a duration of less than one year at Georgian Polytechnics under the false hope and promises that attractive jobs and PR status will be available as soon as they complete these courses. Appropriate measures are being taken to apprise the prospective Indian nationals of the ground realities. In addition to students’ community, there are estimated 300 Indian nationals working for Indian companies which have business operations in Georgia. No incident of ethnic/racial violence against the Indian community has come to notice. Indian films and food are popular in Georgia; there are two Indian Restaurants in Tbilisi. Interest in learning Hindi is palpable.


Trade and Economic Relations
Trade: Bilateral trade between the two countries is relatively small. It has shown a steady increase in recent years, growing from US $ 42.41mn during 2004-05 to US $ 115.39mn in 2006- 07 but declining thereafter to US $ 103.72 mn during 2007-08 and further to US $ 88.96 mn during 2008-09; it registered further decline in 2009-10 due to the impact of global economic crisis and reached US $ 66 mn. [Source: Department of Commerce, Government of India]. Balance of trade is in favour of India. The main commodity of Georgian exports to India is the ferrous waste and scrap, whereas meat and meat products are India’s main items of exports. There has been tremendous response to “Best of India” – the periodic Exhibition-cum-Sale of Indian consumer goods being organized in Tbilisi by private sector with support from the Government of India; this has been contributing to bilateral trade volumes and has also helped in popularizing Indian consumer goods. Investments: Georgia’s international ratings on matters such as “ease of doing business in Georgia” or foreign direct investments are relatively better by regional standards. Some Indian companies / their foreign-based subsidiaries have shown great interest in the Georgian market and have invested in sectors such as metallurgy and energy.