The Importance and Economic Prospects of Strategic Relations Between Georgia and Romania

Giorgi GAGANIDZE

Badri RAMISHVILI

Abstract: The historical and cultural-religious basis of relations between Georgia and Romania has roots in the depths of centuries. A key figure connecting both cultu­res is Saint Antim Ivireanul (Antimoz Iverieli 1660-1716), a Georgian-born metropo­litan who became a major spiritual and cultural figure in Romania. Romania is the largest Orthodox country in the European Union. More than 85% of its population are Orthodox. Approximately the same percentage of Orthodox Christians in Georgia. This is an important positive factor for all types of relations.

A new era in relations between Georgia and Romania began after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The countries have maintained diplomatic relations since 1992. Since then, Romania has been an important partner for Georgia. Romania strongly supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and is an active advocate of Georgia’s EU integration and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

Trade between Georgia and Romania has two strategic directions. The first is tra­de in nationally produced goods between these countries for local consumption. In this regard, Romania is a particularly interesting partner, as its economic potenti­al significantly exceeds Georgia’s. The second direction is the movement of transit cargo between Georgia and Romania which will have a greater economic impact, which is consistent with the concept of the Middle Corridor.

Romania–Georgia economic cooperation has solid foundations and is growing, especially in trade and emerging strategic projects. There’s untapped potential in transport, energy, and deeper business linkages, supported by Romania’s political backing for Georgia’s EU integration. With sustained effort, bilateral economic ti­es can deepen significantly in the coming decade.

Keywords: Romania. Georgia. Strategic relations. Trade and economic collabo­ration. Black Sea collaboration. Georgia’s EU integration.

Introduction

Romania is a very important eco­nomic, political and cultural partner of Georgia. This country is a member of the European Union and NATO, which is fully consistent with the ge­ostrategic orientations declared by the Constitution of Georgia. In the future, in addition to the above, these states can even be considered the axis of cooperation in the Black Sea Ba­sin, as important contributors to the security and stability of the region.

The convergence of political co­urses is an important prerequisite for economic cooperation and that is why the economic integration of Romania and Georgia has good pros­pects. This is obviously largely due to the fact that both states are located on the Black Sea coast and have re­gionally important ports on the Black Sea, between which important mari­time cargo routes have already been launched.

Regional cooperation between Georgia and Romania is on the rise, although its acceleration is desirable. There are several promising directi­ons where regional cooperation can be deepened. The first of these is, of course, trade. This includes both the direct exchange of goods and servi­ces between the two countries, as well as re-export. Romania has the most optimal location for Georgia for transporting goods to the EU countri­es, just as Georgia is the gateway to the Caucasus and Central Asia for European countries.

Romania stands out for its energy potential in the region. In addition to the fact that this country has suffici­ent oil reserves, it also has significant oil refining potential, which is of par­ticular interest to Georgia. In the first seven months of 2025, oil products worth $132.6 million entered Georgia from Romania, which is the second largest indicator in this regard after Russia¹.

Romania’s agricultural sector is on the rise and most importantly, the country has developed agricultural production facilities industries. Geor­gia can import agricultural machinery and chemicals from this region. In turn, Georgia has accumulated signi­ficant potential in agricultural pro­duction, especially in viticulture, which will be interesting for Roma­nian entrepreneurs.

Cooperation between Georgia and Romania in the development of tran­sport infrastructure on the Black Sea is particularly promising. We have touched upon this issue above and noted that the ports of Georgia and Romania create the most optimal ma­ritime corridor connecting the Transcaucasus and the European Union. Transport and communication cooperation requires particularly clo­se cooperation and concentration of efforts in terms of synchronization of legislation, technologies and business activities.

The development of transport and communication ties will certainly accelerate the deepening of cultural and educational relations, which in turn will contribute to the expansion of economic cooperation. These pro­cesses should be carried out in a mu­tually reinforcing manner, which will create the best conditions for Geor­gia’s preparation for EU membership. Romania can also be considered a gateway to the EU for Georgia and the entire Transcaucasus.

Historical and cultural-religious basis of relations between Georgia and Romania

We have mentioned above that political compatibility greatly contri­butes to the development of econo­mic relations. In this regard, cultural ties, religious identity and traditional relations are of no less importance, which increases the acceptance between nations. Romania is the lar­gest Orthodox country in the Euro­pean Union. More than 85% of its approximately 19 million population are Orthodox. This is an important positive factor for all types of relati­ons.

In the modern world, when states set a goal to deepen cooperation, at the initial stage they always strive to identify a common ideological basis and if this is not possible, they try to create it. A common religious context is extremely important, although it is gratifying that in this regard the rela­tions between the two nations also have deep historical roots and all this can be freely used as a cornerstone of relations. What would otherwise require great effort and material costs, in our case already exists.

When discussing the relations between Georgia and Romania, Antimoz Iverieli must be mentioned. He lived in Romania and made a great contribution to this country. Of course, his field of activity was not economics or trade, however, when such grandiose people as Antimoz Iverieli were at the foundation of re­lations between two countries, this had a significant material dimension even after centuries and had a positi­ve impact on all spheres of relations. Grateful Romanians do not forget the deeds of Antimoz Iverieli and in 1992 he was canonized by the Ro­manian Orthodox Church.

Antimoz Iverieli made a signifi­cant contribution to the development of the Romanian literary language. He made Romanian the liturgical language². He organized the printing of books. He fought for the indepen­dence of Romania, for which he ul­timately sacrificed himself. It is also worth noting that it stands at the ori­gins of the first Georgian printed bo­ok. When the King of Kartli, Vakhtang VI, intended to establish a printing house and addressed this request to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the latter forwarded his request to Antimoz Iverieli. After which Antimoz sent his disciple, the Roma­nian Mihai Istvanovich, to Georgia and thus the foundation of the first Georgian printing house was laid³.

When the relations between the two countries have such a brilliant foundation as is the case with Georgia and Romania, it would be unreasonable not to use this fact for the further rapprochement of the Ge­orgian and Romanian nations. The contributions of Antimoz Iverieli and Mihai Istvanovich are so great that they can be considered a strategic basis for relations.

General comparison of the economic potential of Georgia and Romania

Economic relations between Romania and Georgia span several decades and can be divided into two periods. At the first stage, relations were conducted within the context of the socialist bloc and were not volun­tary in nature and therefore could not create a picture of natural develop­ment. Georgia was not an indepen­dent country at all and its foreign trade was completely controlled by the union structures. Although Romania had formal independence, it was also strictly subject to the rules that operated in the socialist camp. The beginning of the second stage is obviously connected with the liquida­tion of the Soviet Union and the col­lapse of the socialist camp. After the change of government in Romania in 1989, this country took the path to­wards integration into European structures. The same processes began in Georgia from the end of 1991, when the dissolution of the Soviet Union was formalized. A very impor­tant event in the history of Romania occurred on January 1, 2007, when this country, together with Bulgaria, became a member of the European Union. From that moment on, relati­ons between Georgia and Romania took on a new political and economic significance, which was further strengthened in December 2023, when Georgia became a candidate for EU membership.

Table 1. Comparison of the economic potential of Romania and Georgia

The table was compiled using information from sources⁴,⁵,

Table 1 compares the economic potential of Romania and Georgia in the context of general indicators. Romania is approximately 3.5 times larger than Georgia in terms of terri­tory and 5 times larger in terms of population, according to recent data. Therefore, Romania’s basic strategic potential significantly exceeds Georgia’s, which is also reflected in economic indicators. In particular, according to 2024, Romania’s GDP at the official exchange rate in 2015 US dollars would amount to 238.2 billion, while Georgia’s would amo­unt to 25.1 billion, which is almost 10 times less than Romania’s. If we compare GDP indicators in terms of purchasing power parity, the diffe­rence is slightly smaller and Romania’s advantage is 8.4 times greater.

Romania’s GDP growth rate in the period 2015-2024 was 33.9%, while Georgia’s was 65.1%. Georgia’s significant GDP growth, compared to Romania’s, was due, among other factors, to a low base effect during the period. From the above, the 2020 figure indicates a significant recession rate for both countries, which was caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic during this period. Georgia experienced a notably big economic decline, which exceeded Romania’s similar figure by almost two times. On the other hand, Romania’s economic develop­ment stagnated in 2024, with GDP growth of less than 1%, while Georgia’s similar figure exceeded 9% this year.

In 2024, the average GDP per ca­pita in the European Union in pur­chasing power parity terms was 62.4 thousand international dollars. If we adjust this figure for the inflation ra­te, we will find that in 2021 dollars it would be approximately 54 thousand international dollars. If we compare it with the corresponding data in Table 1, we will find that in 2024, the GDP per capita in Romania would be 75% of the overall EU average, while Ge­orgia would be 46%. It should also be noted that among the EU countri­es, Bulgaria has the lowest figure in this regard, at approximately 34 tho­usand international dollars and Luxembourg has the highest, at 128 thousand international dollars.

Comparative characteristics of transport communications between Georgia and Romania

The first regular container route between Georgia and Romania was launched on September 20, 2019, connecting the ports of Batumi and Poti with the port of Constanta. The working group estimates that this new route will significantly reduce cargo handling times and tariffs. They expect the Batumi/Poti-Constanta route to take 5 days one-way⁷.

A further regular route between Poti and Constanta is operational from June 27, 2023. The route takes approximately 42-48 hours and ope­rates once a week in one direction⁸. The route is served by a 150-metre ferry, which operates in both directi­ons. The vessel is mainly staffed by Georgian nationals and sails under the Georgian flag. The service is used by truckers; oversized cargo and mo­torcycles are also transported. Con­tainers and closed railway wagons can also be transported through it. The cost of cargo transportation vari­es from 300 to 2,600 euros, depen­ding on the type of cargo. Passenger transportation is also planned from 2025, which was already being carri­ed out between Batumi and the Bul­garian port of Burgas by 2023⁹.

In addition to Romania, Georgia is also connected by ferry-cargo cros­sings with Bulgaria. For example, the direct distance between Batumi and the Bulgarian port of Varna is about 1,100 kilometers and between Batumi and Burgas, which is also a Bulgarian port city, the distance is about 1,000 kilometers. There is also a ferry service between Poti and Burgas, the distance is 950 kilome­ters. The same indicator between Poti and the Romanian port city of Constanta is 1100 kilometers and between Batumi and Constanta is 1150 kilometers.

Despite the fact that the distance between the ports of Georgia and Bulgaria is relatively shorter than between the Romanian port city of Constanta and the ports of Georgia, in our opinion, sea freight transporta­tion with Romania has greater pros­pects and this is determined by seve­ral reasons. First of all, we should consider the geographical location of these countries. Bulgaria is located south of Romania and borders such countries as Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Macedonia and Romania. Georgia can establish sea or land connections with Turkey, Greece and Romania. Accordingly, the use of Bulgaria as a transit country is promising only in the case of Serbia and Macedonia. Romania, which is closer to the cen­ter of Europe, borders Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria. In addition, transit cargo transportation from this country, due to distance and location, is more ap­propriate to be carried out in Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and whi­le the war is ongoing in Ukraine, in Poland, Northern Europe and the Baltic countries.

In addition to the above, in terms of the development of economic ties, Romania is a more promising country than Bulgaria because it is larger in terms of territory andpopulation and is significantly better developed in economic terms. An essential factor in this regard is oil reserves and its refining capacities, which make Romania the most important trade and economic partner for Georgia.

Other routes to Europe are less at­tractive not only compared to Romania but also to Bulgaria. For example, transit times on the Istanbul and Piraeus routes are 12-24 days, while on the new Poti-Constanta route this time is reduced to 2 days¹⁰. The land route via Turkey cannot compete. From Poti to Constanta, its length is more than 2000 km, while the sea distance between the same cities, as already mentioned, is about 1100 km.

Strategic directions for the de­velopment of trade between Georgia and Romania

Trade between Georgia and Ro­mania began in the years after Georgia gained independence, although at first it was mainly limited to imports from Romania and export figures to this country were quite insignificant. Among imported products, oil pro­ducts prevailed.

Trade between Georgia and Romania has two strategic directions. The first is trade in nationally produ­ced goods between these countries for local consumption. However, in our opinion, in the future, the move­ment of transit cargo between Georgia and Romania will have a greater economic impact, which is consistent with the concept of the Middle Corridor. Regardless of the implementation of the Zangezur Cor­ridor, in our opinion, for the reasons discussed above in this article, Georgia will not lose its importance as a transit point for Romania.

Table 2 presents such indicators of Georgia’s trade as domestic ex­ports, total exports and imports with important trading partners. First of all, it is worth noting the fact that the domestic and total export indicators of Georgia with Romania practically coincide. This indicates that almost no re-export of goods supplied from Georgia is carried out from the terri­tory of Romania. This, in our opini­on, is unacceptable, since Romania has great potential as a transit coun­try.

The value of goods imported from Romania to Georgia during the peri­od under review significantly exce­eds the export indicators and so­metimes this excess is even tenfold. This does not indicate the fact that the territory of Georgia is used for the re-export of Romanian goods. Although the table does not show what part of the goods imported from Romania are re-exported from Georgia, these figures should not be impres­sive, since the lion’s share of the no­menclature imported from Romania falls on petroleum products, which are consumed locally. If we analyze the dynamics of trade indica­tors between Georgia and Romania, it is easy to notice certain fluctuations in all three directions during the peri­od under review, although no signifi­cant trend of growth or decline is evident.

Table 2

Georgia’s trade figures with important partners

According to the table, Georgia has much more intensive trade relati­ons with another Black Sea state, Bulgaria. The data on domestic and total exports are several times higher than the corresponding indicators for Romania. If we analyze Bulgaria’s economic potential, it is clear that we are dealing with a high share of re-exports, although such a conclusion cannot be drawn unequivocally from the table, since these two indicators almost coincide over the years. For example, in 2022, domestic exports from Georgia to Bulgaria amounted to 420 million US dollars, while the total export figure amounted to 424 million US dollars. Based on these data alone, we can conclude that re-exports amounted to 4 million US dollars. But it is not excluded that we are dealing with hidden re-exports. It is also inconceivable that Bulgaria consumed goods worth 420 million US dollars sent from Georgia. There is no doubt that products manufactu­red in Georgia were re-exported from this country. Import rates from Bulgaria are high and it is highly likely that some of these goods are re-exported from Georgia.

Conclusions and recommenda­tions

Romania and Georgia have com­plete convergence of political inte­rests and orientations, both of these states are located on the Black Sea coast and are actually the gateways to Europe and the Caucasus. All this creates a solid foundation for deepe­ning economic cooperation.

When there is ideological compa­tibility between countries, this greatly simplifies cooperation in all directi­ons. Often, when such a thing does not exist, huge resources and funds are spent artificially to create such a base. Georgia and Romania do not need this. Both countries are carriers of Orthodox culture and relations between them have been going on for centuries, as evidenced by the contri­butions of such personalities as Antimoz Iverieli and Mihai Istvanovich.

Romania’s economic and resource potential significantly exceeds that of Georgia, therefore, it is much more important for our country to deepen economic relations with this country.

For Georgia and the entire Transcaucasus, the most optimal routes for trade with most EU co­untries pass through Romania, which is confirmed by actual data. Their development has already begun, but the pace is clearly insufficient. Coor­dination at the government level is necessary to accelerate cooperation.

The trade indicators between Georgia and Romania are low and do not correspond to the potential that the two countries have in this regard. The failure to use the re-export po­tential looks especially disappointing, which deprives both countries of great opportunities. To correct the situation, it is necessary to deepen intergovernmental relations, synchr­onize legislation and actions and involve other bordering and inte­rested countries in this process, which is so necessary for the deve­lopment of transit cargo transportati­on.

Notes

• https://georgiatoday.ge/georgia-and-romania-hold-business-meeting-to-expand-cooperation/ .
• Vasile-Lucian V. Goldan, „The Arc-hibishop Antim Ivireanus (1708-1716) Interactions between he orthodox religion, spirituality and creativity”, Management Intercultural, nov. 2015, Vol. XVII, NR. 34 pp. 339-346, https://ideas.repec.org/a/cmj/ interc/y2015i34p339-346.html.
• Ivane Imerlishvili, „Contribution of Antim Iverieli and Mihai Ishtvanovich to the cause of the organization of the Georgian printing house”, European Scientific Journal , Vol. 2, dec. 2014, pp. 153-156, https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/4801.
• https://data.worldbank.org/ .
• https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/.
• https://www.worldometers.info/ .
• https://www.seanews.com.tr/new-bat-umi-constanta-feeder-service-moves-b-oxes-on-trans-caspian-route/1837-77/?utm _source=chatgpt.com.
• https://commersant.ge/en/news/business/27-voyages-have-already-been-c-arried-out-on-poti-constanta-route?ut-m _source = chatgpt.com.
• https://www.investor.ge/2025/02/10/georgias-black-sea-ferry-routes-priva-te-businesses-fill-a-gap-in-geor-gi-as-european-trade-route/?utm_sourc-e= chatgpt.com.
• https://www.energynomics.ro/en/grampet-opens-the-shipping-route-betw-een-constanta-and-batumi-poti-ports /?utm_source=chatgpt.com
• https://www.geostat.ge/ka.

Bibliography

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https://www.worldometers.info/

https://www.seanews.com.tr/new-batu-mi-constanta-feeder-service-moves-boxes-on-trans-caspian-route/18377-7/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://commersant.ge/en/news/business/27-voyages-have-already-been-carr-ied-out-on-poti-constanta-route?ut-m_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.investor.ge/2025/02/10/georgias-black-sea-ferry-routes-private-bu-sinesses-fill-a-gap-in-georgias-europe-an-trade-route/?utm_source=chat-gpt.com

https://www.energynomics.ro/en/grampet-opens-the-shipping-route-between-co-nstanta-and-batumi-poti-ports/?ut-m_source=chatgpt.com

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https://georgiatoday.ge/georgia-and-ro-mania-hold-business-meeting-to-ex-pand-cooperation/

GOLDAN, V. Lucian-Vasile, „The Arc-hibishop Antim Ivireanus (1708-1716) Interactions between he orthodox religion, spirituality and creativity”, Management Intercultural, nov. 2015, Vol. XVII, NR. 34 pp. 339-346, https://ideas.repec.org/a/cmj/interc/y2015i34p339-346.html.

IMERLISHVILI, Ivane, „Contribution of Antim Iverieli and Mihai Ishtvanovich to the cause of the organization of the Georgian printing house”,  European Scientific Journal , Vol. 2, dec. 2014, pp. 153-156, https://eujournal.org/ index.php/esj/article/view/4801.