The President of Georgia attended an Investment Forum at the Harvard Club in New York, at which Georgia was named as the top country in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in terms of doing business. Mikheil Saakashvili opened the forum and talked to the businessmen about future investments in Georgia as well as the investment in the environment in the country. The President of Georgia received the "Leader Connection" special award from the President of the largest telecommunication company, for developing business. During the event it was agreed that one of the largest publications "National Geographic" will be published in the Georgian language. The cooperation memorandum was signed by the Head of the "Silk Road Group"- Giorgi Ramishvili and the President of "National Geographic"
"I spent many amazing years in this town. I remember, after graduating from Columbia University I practiced law here on 42nd Street. During that time, President Shevardnadze visited New York in order to attend the UN General Assembly, while also participating in other meetings. Our law firm even organized a special event in order to draw investments to Georgia. Eduard Shevardnadze addressed the audience with the same speech he kept repeating for years: Georgia is a beautiful country; it is distinguished by good wine, extraordinary culture and magnificent views. He was asked: What do you have in Georgia that will interest the investors and make them invest money? He thought for a while and answered: We also have a good kitchen...Such issues have a huge influence on economic decisions. I read that for small countries that are trying to find their place on the world map, their success markers are especially important. Our achievements are expressed by these markers" - stated the President of Georgia.
After the award ceremony, the participants of the forum also reviewed the specific projects of the American billionaire - Donald Trump, that are going to be implemented in Georgia, including those in Batumi. The participants of the Investment Forum are sure that because of Georgia's international ratings, the number of large investment projects will increase in the country.