Business Association of Georgia Taking Part in the Seminar of the US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) on Procurement

15 May '10

The US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) held the seminar on "Domestic procurement" for Georgian producers, with the organization of AmCham and participation of BAG at Tbilisi Marriott on May 15.

The event aimed at familiarizing the domestic producers with the procedures and requirements that are used in the procurements by the US General Services Administration (GSA) and US Defense Logistics Agency.

US Ambassador to Georgia John Bass opened the seminar and briefed the participants about the contents and objective of the Project. As stated by him, within the framework of the Charter on Strategic Partnership signed between Georgia and US, the US is concerned about developing Georgia's economy and encouraging the business; in addition, Georgia remains America's loyal partner in the region and is actively involved in fighting against terrorism in Afghanistan.

To reduce freight transportation costs in Afghanistan the US Government is planning to procure certain goods in Georgia.

As stated by the GSA representative Joel Lundy, procurement of goods of over 100 appellations is planned at the initial stage. The list includes construction and repair materials, household articles and foodstuff (semi-finished or tinned). Procurement will be done through GSA contractor company TWI which will select the supplier and offered goods on the spot.

In the course of procurement, priority will be given to goods produced in Georgia to be meeting certain quality and packing requirements.

The meeting was attended by the representative of EBRD's Georgia BAS Program John Caracciolo, who expressed that BAS is actively involved in this Project and provides small and medium business with consultancy on meeting the standards and requirements set by TWI. The service provided by BAS is free of charge and covers helping the companies in improvement of management, business planning and quality management.

At the end of the seminar, representatives of participating companies (including the BAG members) had the chance to have discussions with GSA and TWI representatives, to inform them of their own products and get additional information regarding the Project.