The Council

Established in 1998, the America–Georgia Business Council (AGBC) is a private, non-profit corporation governed by a Board of Directors. The AGBC promotes trade and investment between North America and Georgia by helping companies focus and accelerate decision-making to forge successful, bilateral business partnerships. 

The AGBC relies on a deep understanding of the Georgian political and business landscape, direct access to high-level government officials and agencies, and diverse business contacts to deliver value and maximize opportunities for our members. 

Why Consider Georgia for Business, Trade, and Investment?

Georgia is an attractive destination for trade and investment for US companies. First, the country is strategically located with direct access to the Middle East and Central Asia. Entering Georgia offers the potential to reach an exponentially larger regional market, thanks to Georgia’s free trade agreements with Turkey, CIS countries, the EU, and China.

Second, Georgia is a transit country with increasing rail, highway, and air links, which provide excellent opportunities for US enterprises in the areas of transportation, telecommunications, hospitality, food industry, and finance. As a mark of this growth, the country boasts a successful track record in completing international infrastructure projects, including energy pipelines and oil terminals.

Third, Georgia has attained high rankings in all positive international indices with particular emphasis on low rates of tax, regulation, crime, and corruption. Given this stable environment, the country enjoys strong support from international financial institutions, and from investment promotion agencies, such as OPIC.   

Mamuka Tsereteli, President

Dr. Mamuka Tsereteli was a founding executive director of the America-Georgia Business Council since 1998 and became the President of the organization in 2009. Under his leadership, the Council has emerged as a major instrument for the promotion of US-Georgian trade and investment ties, focused on maximization of the opportunities for the member companies. Dr. Tsereteli  has developed the themes and concepts for AGBC's 20 annual conferences, which have become the major forum for public-private dialog on the issues of bilateral economic relationships between the United States and Georgia. 

Dr. Tsereteli's commitment to Georgia goes beyond the Council with his work in academia, business, and the non-profit sector. He is a Senior Fellow with the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at American Foreign Policy Council. He is also the founder of the Georgian House of Greater Washington, LLC, the boutique company focused on promotion of Georgian wines in the USA.  From 2009 to 2013, he served as a founding Director of the Center for Black Sea-Caspian Studies at American University in DC. He currently teaches a course on Energy Markets for Middle East and Central Asia at Johns Hopkins SAIS. Dr. Tsereteli serves as a Board Member in several organizations, including Georgian Association in the USA, American Friends of Georgia etc.