Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Gakharia and Foreign Minister Zalkaliani
![Georgia [Shutterstock]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20210105003721im_/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Georgia-2109x1406.jpg)
International Travel Information
What you need to know before you go: visas, Embassy & Consulate locations, vaccinations, etc.
International Travel Information: Learn MoreU.S. Relations With Georgia
Highlights
Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Georgian President Zourabichvili
Senior State Department Officials Briefing to Traveling Press
U.S. Relationship
U.S.-Georgia Relations
The United States established diplomatic relations with Georgia in 1992 following Georgia’s 1991 independence from the Soviet Union. Since 1991, Georgia has made impressive progress fighting corruption, developing modern state institutions, and enhancing global security. The United States is committed to helping Georgia deepen Euro-Atlantic ties and strengthen its democratic institutions. The United States supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and condemns Russia’s 2008 invasion of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which remain occupied by Russia today. As a participant of the Geneva International Discussions on the conflict in Georgia, the United States continues to play an active role in support of these principles.
U.S. Assistance to Georgia
U.S. Government assistance to Georgia supports the consolidation of Georgia’s democracy; its integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions; progress toward a peacefully unified nation, secure in its borders; and further development of its free-market economy.
Bilateral Economic Relations
The United States and Georgia seek to identify opportunities for U.S. businesses to invest in Georgia, and for both countries to sell goods and services to each other. They have signed a bilateral investment treaty and a bilateral trade and investment framework agreement. Georgia can export many products duty-free to the United States under the Generalized System of Preferences program. Through a high-level trade and investment dialogue, the two countries have discussed a range of options to improve economic cooperation and bilateral trade. They have also discussed ways to improve Georgia’s business climate to attract more investment, underscoring the importance of continued improvements in rule of law, respect for labor rights and effective implementation of newly passed labor reforms, protecting intellectual property rights, and resolving business disputes in a transparent and timely manner. From 2006 to 2011, a Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact helped promote Georgian enterprise and economic growth through investments in physical infrastructure. From 2013 to 2019, the MCC helped support Georgia’s education reform through a second compact.
![Georgia Flag: white rectangle with a central red cross extending to all four sides of the flag; each of the four quadrants displays a small red bolnur-katskhuri cross; sometimes referred to as the Five-Cross Flag; although adopted as the official Georgian flag in 2004, the five-cross design appears to date back to the 14th century. [CIA World Fact Book]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20210105003721im_/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/gg-lgflag.gif)