First Vice Prime Minister, Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Levan Davitashvili, addressed the panel discussion of the Istanbul Energy Forum, which focused on global energy challenges and the importance of regional cooperation in solving them.

According to the Ministry’s press office, Davitashvili “stressed the importance of regional cooperation in ensuring energy sustainability and strengthening energy security.”

The First Vice Prime Minister spoke at length about the government’s policy of promoting electricity production from renewable sources.

“It may be ambitious, but we aim to double our installed energy capacity by 2030. This is important for maintaining our high rate of economic growth. Over the past 3-4 years, we have almost doubled our economy. This year, our economic growth rate is 9.8%, owing to the important structural reforms,” Davitashvili asserted.

The Georgian Economy Minister focused on effective schemes for promoting investments in the energy sector.

Davitashvili also spoke about large investment projects being implemented through the so-called public-private partnerships (PPPs) which are in line with EU directives.

Ministers from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Libya, Moldova, Serbia and Uzbekistan also were among the panellists.