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	== See also ==		== See also ==
	~~{{Portal\|Georgia (country)\|India\|Politics}}~~
	* [[Foreign relations of Georgia]]		* [[Foreign relations of Georgia]]
	* [[Foreign relations of India]]		* [[Foreign relations of India]]

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2021-10-03T01:50:13Z

History

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{{bilateral|Georgia-India|Georgia|India}}
'''Georgia–India relations''' are foreign relations between [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[India]]. The Embassy of India in Yerevan, Armenia is concurrently accredited to Georgia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Georgia|url=http://www.indianembassy.am/pages.php?id=41|website=Embassy of India, Yerevan|access-date=29 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> Georgia maintains an embassy in New Delhi.<ref name="MFA">{{cite web|title=Republic of India|url=http://india.mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=703&info_id=7692|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia|access-date=29 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328020913/http://india.mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=703&info_id=7692|archive-date=28 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== History ==
Relations between Georgia and India date back to ancient times. The ''[[Panchatantra]]'' influenced Georgian folk legends. During the medieval period, Georgian missionaries, travelers, and traders visited India. Some Georgians served in the courts of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperors, and a few rose to the rank of governor. Udaipuri Begum, one of Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]]'s wives, was of Georgian descent. Georgian historians theorize that the remains of Georgian Queen [[Ketevan the Martyr|Ketevan]], who died in [[Shiraz]], Iran in 1624, were transferred to St. Augustine Tower in [[Goa]] by the Portuguese.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Global|first=IndraStra|title=THE PAPER {{!}} India-Georgia Relationship: A Window of Opportunity|url=http://www.indrastra.com/2017/11/PAPER-India-Georgia-Relationship-Window-Opportunity-003-11-2017-0025.html|journal=IndraStra|issn=2381-3652}}</ref> On 24 September 2017, the Government of India transferred the remains to the [[Georgian National Museum]] and the Holy Trinity Church (''Sameba'') in [[Tbilisi]] for a period of six months during which both religious and scientific events were staged.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 18, 2018|first=Lisa|last=Monteiro|title=St Ketevan's relics return after Georgia visit|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/st-ketevans-relics-return-after-georgia-visit/articleshow/66269103.cms|access-date=2020-11-06|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> On 9 July 2021, the holy relics were gifted to the Georgian government and to [[Ilia II of Georgia|Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II]] by [[Minister of External Affairs (India) | Indian Foreign Minister]] [[S. Jaishankar]].<ref>{{cite news|title="Bonds Of Friendship": India Gifts Relic Of 17th Century Queen To Georgia|work=The Economics Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/india-hands-over-holy-relic-of-st-queen-ketevan-during-jaishankars-trip-to-georgia/articleshow/84274426.cms|access-date=9 July 2021}}</ref>

[[Jawaharlal Nehru]] visited [[Tbilisi]] in 1955, during his tour of the [[Soviet Union]], and met with Georgian Indologist and Sanskrit scholar [[Aka Morchiladze]].<ref name="MEA2013">{{cite web|title=India - Georgia Relations|url=https://mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Georgia_Brief_2013.pdf|website=Ministry of External Affairs|access-date=30 April 2017|date=January 2013}}</ref> [[Indira Gandhi]] visited the city during her tour of the Soviet Union in 1976.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sahai|first1=Shrinath|title=The Delhi Declaration, Cardinal of Indo-Soviet Relations: A Bibliographical Study|date=1990|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=9788170992264|page=321|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3lhRuOJamwC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage|access-date=29 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> Foreign Minister [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] visited Georgia in June 1978.<ref name="MEA2016">{{cite web|url=http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Georgia_July_2016.pdf|title=India - Georgia Relations|date=July 2016|website=Ministry of External Affairs|access-date=28 April 2017}}</ref>

India was among the first countries to officially recognize Georgia,<ref>{{cite web|title=Georgia Ambassador In Conversation With Diplomatic Editor Jose Kalathil - Zeitgeist Asia, July 2010|url=http://india.mfa.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=705&info_id=7831|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia|access-date=29 April 2017|date=July 2010}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> doing so on 26 December 1991. Diplomatic relations were established 28 September 1992.<ref name="MEA2016" /><ref name="MFA"/> Georgian Foreign Minister [[Irakli Menagarishvili]] visited [[New Delhi]] in May 2000. This was the first diplomatic visit between the two countries since Georgia's independence. Menagarishvili held bilateral discussions with Foreign Minister [[Jaswant Singh]] on 11 May.<ref name="MEA2016" />

India, which is a close ally of Russia, remained neutral during the [[Russo-Georgian War]] in August 2008. Russia recognized the independence of [[Occupied territories of Georgia|Abkhazia and South Ossetia]] following the war. When asked to explain India's position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia, then-Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told ''[[The Hindu]]'' on 22 September 2008, "We have not recognized Kosovo's independence. We have a standard practice of recognizing a country carved out of an existing geographical entity. Keeping that standard we determine our position. We are watching the development with respect to Georgia and the other two small countries [South Ossetia and Abkhazia] which have been recognized by Russia. We have not yet taken any final view in respect of these two countries."{{cn|date=December 2020}} As of 2017, India does not [[International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia|recognize Abkhazia or South Ossetia]].

Georgia opened an honorary consulate in New Delhi in 2005, and upgraded it to an embassy in 2010. The first resident Ambassador of Georgia to India assumed office on 25 February 2010.<ref name="MEA2016" /> Secretary in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs Parvez Dewan represented India at the first "Day of Diaspora" celebrations in Tbilisi in May 2012. Deputy Foreign Minister David Jalagania led a Georgian delegation to attend the first Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) in Delhi April 2014. India's Central Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi participated in the International Conference of Election Commissioners in Batumi in February 2015. An Indian Foreign Ministry delegation attended the AIIB Founding Member countries Expert Meeting in Tbilisi in July 2015. Chairperson of the Election Commission of Georgia Tamar Zhvania visited New Delhi on 13 July 2015. During the visit, the two countries signed an MoU for cooperation in election management and administration.<ref name="MEA2016" />

Indian Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat and two other Election Commission officials visited Kakheti province, Georgia to participate in a multilateral event on electoral practices in February 2016. Deputy Economy Minister Ketevan Bochorishvili visited India in April 2016. She promoted a "Film in Georgia" project to Indian directors, producers and film studios. A delegation from India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) visited Tbilisi to conduct training for officials of the Election Commission of Georgia in June 2016. The Second Session of the India-Georgia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific & Technological, Cultural and Educational Cooperation (IGC) was held in Tbilisi on 25 July 2016.<ref name="MEA2016" />

Georgia has supported India at various international fora and multilateral organizations. The country supported India's candidatures at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Executive Board of UNESCO, and membership of the Council of International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2013, the UNHRC in 2014, and the World Customs Organization in 2015. India voted for Georgia's candidature at the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) in 2013.<ref name="MEA2016" />

== Economic relations ==
Bilateral trade between Georgia and India totaled US$107.04 million in 2015–16, declining slightly from $105.02 million in the previous fiscal. India exported $82.57 million worth of goods to Georgia, and imported $24.47 million. The main commodities exported by India to Georgia are cereals, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery and equipment, aluminium and aluminium articles. The major commodities imported by India from Georgia are fertilisers, aluminium and aluminum articles, copper and copper articles.<ref>{{cite web|title=Total Trade|url=http://commerce.gov.in/EIDB.aspx|website=Department of Commerce|access-date=28 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>

India's foreign direct investment in Georgia rose from $29,000 in 2005 to $26 million by November 2011. An FDI of US$6.13 million was made by Indian companies in Georgia in the third quarter of 2012 alone. JSW Steel Netherlands BV, the Dutch subsidiary of Indian firm JSW Steel, partnered with Georgian Steel Group Holding Limited to establish a plant to convert metal scraps into reinforced steel bars. The plant was officially inaugurated by President in November 2009. Trans Electrica was founded by Indian firm Continental Construction, along with British and Georgian firms, to construct a hydro power plant in Georgia. [[Escorts Group]] maintain authorized distributor in Tbilisi to sell their tractors and other products.<ref name="MEA2013"/>

Indian firms have made large investments in steel, infrastructure, agriculture farming and service sectors in Georgia. Around 150 Indians, mostly from Punjab, have acquired a combined total of about 1500 hectares of agricultural land for cultivation in Georgia.<ref name="MEA2016"/> This is facilitated by the Georgian Government's policy of encouraging immigration of people with agricultural knowledge to the country in an effort to boost its declining agricultural production. Indian farmers are attracted by the low cost of land in Georgia. One Punjabi Sikh farmer who emigrated to Georgia noted that he could purchase 200 hectares of land in Georgia from the money made by selling one hectare of land in Punjab.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Parameswaran|first1=Felix Gaedtke, Gayatri|title=Georgia farms face Indian 'invasion'|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/02/201322081918452141.html|website=Al Jazeera|access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref> [[Tata Power]] invested around $280 million in a power project in Georgia.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

In February 2014, an Indian pharmaceutical delegation visited Georgia for the first time. They visited several pharmaceutical plants and labs in Georgia and held discussions with Georgian businesses. The first ever India Tourism Seminar "Incredible India" was held in Tbilisi on 26 September 2014. It was organized by the Embassy of India in Yerevan and the Regional Office of Tourism of India in Frankfurt, Germany. Sixty-two Georgian tour operators attended the seminar.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

==Cultural relations==

[[Indian film]]s and [[Indian cuisine|cuisine]] are popular in Georgia, and there are several [[Indian cuisine#Outside India|Indian restaurants]] in Tbilisi. There is some interest in the [[Hindi]] language among Georgians.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

The Institute of Multi Task Diplomacy in Tbilisi, with support from the [[Mahatma Gandhi Foundation]] in India{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}, founded the Gandhi Foundation Georgia on 30 June 2014 in Tbilisi to promote [[Gandhism|Gandhian philosophy]] in the country. The Gandhi Foundation Georgia established a its second branch in [[Batumi]]. Superintending Archaeologist of [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI) Taher visited Georgia to attend the International Council of Museums' Conference in September 2014.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

As of July 2016, around 2,000 [[Overseas Indian|Indian citizens]] reside in Georgia, almost half of whom are [[Indian_students_abroad#Other_major_destinations|students]] at the [[Tbilisi State Medical University]]. About 200 citizens are employed by [[Indian companies]] involved in the [[infrastructure and economics|infrastructure sector]] in Georgia, while others are businessmen, agricultural farmers and workers.<ref name="MEA2016"/>

==Foreign aid==
India donated {{INRConvert|5|l|year=1994}} worth of medicines and relief supplies to refugees and displaced persons from Abkhazia in December 1994.<ref name="MEA2013"/>

Citizens of Georgia are eligible for scholarships under the [[Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme]].<ref name="MEA2016"/> The [[Indian Council for Cultural Relations]] (ICCR) provides scholarships for Georgians to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate courses at universities in India. The ICCR also offers ''Kendriya Hindi Sansthan'' scholarships to study Hindi in India. The ICCR established a Chair of Contemporary Indian Studies at the Tbilisi State University in October 2011.<ref name="MEA2013"/>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Georgia (country)|India|Politics}}
* [[Foreign relations of Georgia]]
* [[Foreign relations of India]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.india.mfa.gov.ge/ Georgian embassy in New Delhi]
* [http://www.indianembassy.am/ Indian embassy in Yerevan] (represents India in Georgia)

{{Foreign relations of Georgia}}
{{Foreign relations of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgia-India relations}}
[[Category:Georgia (country)–India relations| ]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of Georgia (country)|India]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of India]]

Georgia–India relations - Revision history

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