Day: November 19, 2025
Georgia’s external merchandise trade (excluding non-declared trade) reached USD 20.8 billion in January-October 2025, marking an 8.6% increase compared to the same period last year, the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) reported on November 19.
Exports totaled USD 5.8 billion (up 6.8% year-on-year), while imports grew 9.3% to USD 14.9 billion. The trade deficit stood at USD 9.1 billion, making up 44% of the total external trade turnover.
Kyrgyzstan (USD 1.2 billion), Kazakhstan (USD 743.8 million), and Russia (USD 608.3 million) remained Georgia’s top export destinations. Geostat noted that the ten largest export partners accounted for 79.4% of total exports.
Motor cars continued to dominate export revenue at USD 2.2 billion (39.2% of all exports), followed by precious metal ores and concentrates (USD 291.6 million; 5%) and spirituous beverages (USD 230.1 million; 3.9%).
The United States led imports with USD 2.27 billion, followed by Turkey (USD 2.26 billion) and China (USD 1.6 billion). The top ten import partners accounted for 71% of total imports.
Motor cars also topped the list of imported commodities at USD 3.1 billion (21%), followed by petroleum and petroleum oils (USD 1 billion; 7.3%), and medicaments put up in measured doses (559.9 million; 3.7%).
Also Read:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia said the EU had “regrettably” postponed the planned Human Rights Dialogue “despite Georgia’s efforts and readiness” to hold the meeting, adding that the grounds for the postponement were “entirely unacceptable and unjustified.”
“Using this development for further speculation only deepens reasonable doubts and reinforces the perception that the European External Action Service may have lacked genuine motivation to convene the meeting, and that Brussels may not be prepared to hear Georgia’s fact-based positions, including on issues previously cited as grounds for suspending political dialogue,” the Foreign Ministry said in a November 19 comment.
The MFA noted that after Brussels suspended political dialogue with Georgia at all levels following the EU Council’s June 27, 2024 conclusions, the “Georgian side viewed this meeting as an important opportunity to re-engage with the EU – including on issues where Brussels has frequently voiced critical assessments.”
The annual EU-Georgia Human Rights Dialogue, planned for November 21 in Brussels, was postponed indefinitely, with Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper citing “impediments from the Georgian side,” while a source familiar with the discussions told Civil.ge the postponement followed the inclusion of a sanctioned official in Georgia’s delegation.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry said the country had undertaken “extensive substantive work” to prepare for the meeting so the EU “would receive all necessary information on every agenda item,” adding that “the delegation was composed with the participation of all relevant state agencies to guarantee a comprehensive and meaningful exchange.”
The Foreign Ministry, however, maintained that Georgia “remains firmly committed to constructive engagement and continues to believe that there is no alternative to dialogue between partners.”
“Accordingly, Georgia is ready to consider engagement with the EU across various dialogue formats, once the dialogue suspended by Brussels is fully resumed.”
The Human Rights Dialogue is a key instrument of the EU’s external human rights policy, designed to place “human rights at the core of its action,” according to official EU guidelines. The dialogues, held based on terms of reference negotiated with each partner country, cover a wide range of legislative, regulatory, and other developments.
The meetings are held alternately in Brussels and the partner country, and involve representatives of the EU External Action Service (EEAS) as well as government and civil society actors from the partner country. The last 16th Human Rights Dialogue meeting was held in Tbilisi in 2023, and the round scheduled for 2024 was postponed.
Also Read: