Political relations

On 23 March 1992, Germany was the first country in the European Community to recognise Georgia under international law after it gained independence in 1991. The two countries established diplomatic relations on 13 April 1992, and the German Embassy was opened that same year. Relations between Germans and Georgians can be traced back more than two hundred years to the early 19th century, when Swabian immigrants first arrived in Georgia.

Germany supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity without reservation, as well as the country’s EU perspective. Germany is also actively involved in the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM).

Economic relations

An agreement on the promotion and mutual protection of investments (1998) and a double taxation agreement (2007) are just two of the international treaties which form the basis for bilateral economic exchange.

In 2022, German-Georgian trade was worth 686.6 million euro (imports to Germany: 103.1 million euro; exports to Georgia: 583.5 million euro). Georgia’s main exports to Germany were food (in particular nuts) and textiles and the country imports primarily cars and car parts, machinery and chemical products. About 300 German companies are active in Georgia. The German Business Association in Tbilisi was established in 2007.

Development cooperation

When it comes to development cooperation, Germany is one of the principal bilateral donors along with the United States. It is the largest bilateral donor in the EU. Prime examples in the field of financial cooperation are the beacon projects to build municipal water infrastructure in Batumi and to expand the electricity transmission network. In the field of technical cooperation, Germany is supporting strategically important reform projects such as the far-reaching and complex process to decentralise public administration, as well as future-oriented topics such as sustainable urban mobility. As part of the BMZ 2030 reform of German development cooperation, Georgia was upgraded to one of 65 bilateral partner countries.