Gharibashvili noted the free trade agreement with the EU had given Georgian entrepreneurs the opportunity to export their products to the bloc without any barriers.

"The ever-increasing dynamics of trade have tangible consequences for the well-being of our citizens. The possibility of free movement throughout the EU with a Georgian passport, brought by the agreement on visa-free travel, is also particularly important for our citizens”, Gharibashvili said.

“On March 3 of last year, I signed Georgia's application for EU membership. The continuation of this process was the granting of a European perspective to Georgia by the European Union. For the first time in our history, Europe has publicly and unequivocally declared that Georgia will become a member state of the European Union.

After a long period of stagnation, the result, which has been achieved in less than 10 years, is the result of joint efforts of the Government and a large part of the public.

I believe that this process will continue at the end of the year with the well-deserved recognition of these efforts and the granting of [the EU membership] candidate status, which will become the beginning of the decisive stage of Georgia's accession to the European Union”, - Gharibashvili said.