France and Georgia

Political relations

We have long-standing friendly relations with Georgia (the Georgian government in exile was hosted in France from 1918 to 1921), maintained through contacts at every level. Bilateral political consultations at Foreign Minister level were held in Tbilisi on 15 December 2016. Talks are ongoing with a view to establishing political dialogue between the two countries, including on the management of migration flows.

Visits

• President Hollande made an official visit to Tbilisi on 13 May 2014, and received his Georgian counterpart on an official visit to France from 20 to 23 April 2016.
• The Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Janelidze, made an official visit to France on 7 February 2017.
• Mr Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, visited Georgia on 26 May 2018 to take part in the celebration of the centenary of the Republic of Georgia (proclaimed on 26 May 2018).
• The French President met with his Georgian counterpart on the sidelines of the NATO summit of 11 July 2018.

Economic relations

Georgia has received French investment in the areas of distribution, transport, hospitality and agrifood. France has a trade surplus (€180 million of exports as against €36 million of imports in 2017) with Georgia, but trade remains limited with a market share of 1.5%.

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

Our cultural cooperation prioritizes the training of Georgian elites through an attractive grant programme and the development of university courses. The French School of the Caucasus, which was established in September 2006, had more than 360 pupils in 2017-2018. A Franco-Georgian university is being created in the form of a network and will receive its first students in September 2019.

^{Updated: February 2019}