With the patronage of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Ajara Autonomous Republic, Astana - Batumi Business Forum took place at the Rixos President Hotel, in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan. The ambassador of Georgia in Kazakhstan - Mr. Zurab Pataradze opened the forum with a welcome speech where he emphasized the importance of existing bilateral business relations between the countries and expressed his willingness to continue and deepen these ties. The Chairman of the government of Ajara A.R. Mr. Archil Khabadze also addressed the audience and underlined the importance of Kazakh investments in the Ajara region: “the presence of well-established KazTransOil in Ajara is a great example of how attractive our region is for investing”. First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan Mr. Jenis Kasimbek, the Chairman of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan Mr. Sabr Esimbekov and well-known entrepreneurs participated in the event from the Kazakh side. Presentations about Ajara region’s investment and tourism potentials were presented to the forum guests by Georgian delegates. Representatives of several Batumi-based companies also gave the presentations and introduce their products and services. In the framework of B2B meetings, which took place in the second part of the Business Forum, Georgian and Kazakh entrepreneurs exchanged information on their business activities and discussed their potential of further collaboration. Around 120 people representing up to 30 companies and sectors of construction, tourism, transport and logistics took part in B2B meetings from both sides.