20.09.2018

 

In memory of the first President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gennady L. Gaguliya

 

 

The 60th "Damascus International Universal Fair" was held from 6 to 15 September in the Syrian Arab Republic, where the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia, headed by its President Tamila Mertskhulava, represented Abkhazia.

 

The delegation of the CCI was part of the official delegation of the Republic of Abkhazia, headed by the President of the Republic of Abkhazia Raul Khajimba and consisted of nine people.

 

The Chamber of Commerce received the invitation to participate in the fair in December 2017, six months before the recognition of the Republic of Abkhazia by the Syrian Arab Republic.

 

It should be stressed that it was the second participation of the CCI of the RA in the Damascus Exhibition - for the first time the Chamber debuted here in August 2017.

 

The invitation was preceded by serious work conducted by the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the promotion of Abkhazia in Syria. The first attempts to sign contracts with the chambers of commerce of the Syrian Arab Republic were made by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2009, but the Foreign Ministry of this country did not agree with such cooperation. And only in 2014 it was possible to sign the first cooperation agreement with the Union of Exporters of Syria and the Chamber of Commerce of Damascus. It happened in Yerevan.

 

In 2016, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia planned to invite Syrian businessmen to Abkhazia to take part in a special exhibition where they would be able to present their goods, but the internal military situation in Syria prevented this project from being implemented.

 

Nevertheless, the efforts of the CCI leadership were not wasted, as a consequence-the official invitation to the exhibition in Damascus as an equal participant.

 

But the most significant event was that the flag of Abkhazia was raised on an equal basis with the flags of all other countries participating in the 59th international exhibition in Damascus for the first time in many years participation of CCI’s in various international exhibitions,

 

- We were holding negotiations for a long time with the organizers of the exhibition, consulted on this issue and, as a result, agreed to raise the state flag of Abkhazia. The official representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Abkhazia in Syria Nizar al-Jabban organized the tailoring of the flag on the spot and when we arrived at the exhibition our flag was already flaunting among other flags, - proudly emphasized the President of the CCI of RA Gennady Gaguliya.

 

The President of the CCI noted that the visit to the Syrian Arab Republic was fruitful and, in his opinion, serious results from past meetings and signed agreements on mutually beneficial cooperation should be expected in the near future.

 

- The unprecedented excitement caused by the Abkhazian stand once again marks the importance of the participation of our republic in the events of international significance. The exhibitions not only contribute to the creation of a positive image of Abkhazia abroad, but, importantly, it is an excellent opportunity to acquire new promising and useful business contacts, expand cultural, trade and economic ties. Today businessmen from Syria are ready to buy the Abkhaz wine, through the CCI. There are also other interesting proposals, -said Gennady Gaguliya , summing up the results of the trip to Syria in August 2017.

 

Now there is a new invitation, but now the Abkhaz delegation officially represented the state recognized by the leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic and it was received at the highest level.

 

This time Gennady Gaguliya came to Syria as a prime minister, and Tamila Mertskhulava - as a President of the CCI of RA.

 

The size of the Abkhazian pavilion was 100 square meters, it impressed not only visitors of the exhibition, but also persons in positions of authority of SAR.

 

- The idea of ​​arrangement of the pavilion, as well as the project of its construction belonged to Gennady Gaguliya. He was the one who proposed the color scheme, the theme of the stand, the selection of exhibition products. He also advised to divide the pavilion into four thematic parts: tourism, history, culture, agriculture and the department of wine and vodka products. The volume of food supplies amounted 1.5 tons, the delivery of which was also carried out with support of Abkhaz government", - stressed Tamila Mertskhulava.

 

Particularly worth mentioning is that the first day of the opening was announced as the "Day of Abkhazia" by its organizers. The guests had the opportunity not only to see the film about our Republic, but also to enjoy the incendiary national dances of the ensemble "Kavkaz".

 

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia presented a wide range of domestic products - alcohol products of the most important wine exporter LTD “ Wines and Beverages of Abkhazia”, LTD “Abkhaz Shato”,  “Argun Iashta”, “Ashuba Iashta” products and individual entrepreneur Mukba, beer and lemonades of LTD "Sukhum brewery ", ecologically pure water from MBA "Auadhara" and "Resource South" Ltd., various types of jams and lecho from LTD "Abkhazgardens" and "Akhcharakh", compotes from LTD "Trading house Rubin", adzhika "Amtsa" , LTD "Abhazprodukt", ajinjuh and asydzbal of an individual entrepreneur Kamila Kvitsinia, Abkhaz honey,  recently opened by the Ministry of Agriculture of RUE "Abhazmed" and IP Janashia, various kinds of tea MUE "Kutol" and IP Mikvabiya, smoked cheese.

 

The exposition also presented various souvenir products, including ceramics of the Abkhaz sculptor Aslan Nanba, reflecting the national color and state attributes of the Abkhaz state.

 

The guests of the pavilion had an opportunity to familiarize themselves with printed products in the form of booklets and handouts developed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Culture and Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Tourism and the State Investment Agency in different languages.

 

- The Chamber of Commerce and Industry took part in this fair as an honorable guest. We had the opportunity to attend a very beautiful official ceremony of its opening, prepared by the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade of the SAR. The interest of guests and participants of the exhibition to our exposition, as well as during our first visit, was very high and everyone marked the diversity and scale of our pavilion, "-said Tamila Mertskhulava.

 

She stressed the tremendous assistance of the official representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia in the Syrian Arab Republic Nizar Aljabban in the negotiation process with the Fair Administration and construction company that carried out the construction of the Abkhazian pavilion.

 

The Pavilion of the Republic of Abkhazia was neighboring with the states of Czech Republic, China, the CNDR, Cuba, Venezuela, South Ossetia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Palestine, Macedonia, Brazil, Indonesia, Armenia, India,

 

The honorable guest of the Damascus Fair, and of course the Abkhaz exposition, was the President of Abkhazia Raul Khajimba, who addressed the opening ceremony of the fair with a congratulatory address. He was accompanied by the Prime Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic Imad Khamis. They were cordially greeted by the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Abkhazia Tamila Mertskhulava and the staff of the Chamber.

 

Representatives of embassies of Russia, Venezuela, Belarus, Armenia and other countries have also visited the Abkhaz pavilion. The pavilion was also visited by the Honorary General Consul of the Republic of Macedonia in Syria Mr. Mazen Ibrahim Hammour, who expressed his readiness to assist the CCI in establishing contacts for cooperation with the CCI of the Republic of Macedonia.

 

The Abkhaz Pavilion was visited by the Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Syria, Imad Saab, who noted the importance of recognition of Abkhazia's independence by Venezuela in 2009 and stressed the need for developing relations between the two republics in different sectors. Having learned that the Prime Minister, ex-president of CCI Gennady Gaguliya is in the Abkhaz pavilion, Mr. Imaad Saab immediately came to meet him, expressed his respect, and willingness to resolve various issues within his official powers in the framework of expanding cooperation between Abkhazia and Venezuela.

 

The pavilion was also visited by Mr. Hassan Azkul, Board Member of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Mohamad Hamcho, Secretary General of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the Syrian Arab Republic, and other officials.

 

On the day of the official opening of the 60th International Damascus Universal Fair in the building of the Union of Craftsmen of the RAA, Tamila Mertskhulava, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia, and Naji al-Hadua, Chairman of the Union of Artisans of the SAR, signed a solemn agreement on mutually beneficial cooperation. The meeting was also attended by the chairman of the "Union of Artisans of Damascus" Isam al-Zeibak.

 

Taking into account the fact that the tourism industry is developing in Abkhazia and tourists mostly come from the Russian Federation, the host party addressed the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Abkhazia the request to organize a specialized fair for the presentation of products of artisans of the SAR in our Republic.

 

There was an open talk about the possibility of opening a trading house of SAR in Abkhazia, where a wide range of Syrian products will be presented in order to support and assist in the search for new market and business partners on the territory of the Republic of Abkhazia.

 

At the end of the meeting, the CCI of RA President Tamila Mertskhulava received a saber as a memorable souvenir, symbolizing victory over the enemies.

Within the framework of the fair, Tamila Mertskhulava met with the President of the CCI of South Ossetia, Alan Alborty, they discussed the possibility of signing an agreement on bilateral cooperation between the chambers for further cooperation. Mr. Alborty gave his oral consent to participate in the forthcoming IX Abkhaz-Russian Business Forum, which will be held in Sukhum, October 12 this year.

 

As part of the official delegation of the Republic of Abkhazia, Tamila Mertskhulava participated in the official meeting with representatives of the business community and the leaders of the largest commercial and industrial chambers of Syria. The President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Syria, Hassan Kallaa, noted the importance of such meetings and named export of textile products and food products from the SAR to Abkhazia as promising areas for economic cooperation. The meeting also discussed prospects for further foreign trade cooperation between the two countries, visa regime, investment climate, logistics, banking and much more. At the end of the meeting, an exchange of gifts took place and a dinner banquet was organized by the host party.

 

Within the framework of this event, Tamila Mertskhulava got acquainted with the member of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce of Aleppo, Mr. Adel Richi, who expressed desire to establish cooperation.

 

The meeting between Prime Minister Gennady Gaguliya and Tamila Metskhulava with the member of the SAR Parliament Mr. Hamza Shahin took place at the “Dame of Rose” Hotel in Moscow. He arrived to the hotel to meet with Gennady Gaguliya and discuss questions of possible cooperation with Abkhaz businessmen through CCI of RA. He promised Tamila Mertskhulava to provide maximum assistance in case of need to resolve various kinds of issues.

 

The participation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the 60th Damascus International Universal Fair was full and successful.

 

"Occupying such a high and responsible post, tired of official meetings throughout the day, every evening he was finding time and coming to us to the fair, stood nearby, worried, experienced and rejoiced with us and of course was proud of us, as it always was, at various kinds of exhibitions. At the same time he managed to receive guests, talked with them, gave interviews, treated all visitors to the pavilion, made gifts and constantly worried about us - the employees of the CCI, - remembers Tamila Mertskhulava.

 

Ahead was a lot of plans and ideas, the implementation of which was discussed with Gennady Gaguliya. No one at the fair, and in Abkhazia, could imagine that the trip of our delegation to Syria would end so tragically.

 

 Employees of the CCI were very worried while their colleges were in Damascus, because there is a war in this country. Worried also because many people negatively perceived the trip of the Abkhaz delegation, they wrote many bad things about its participants. And what a happy moment, when it was informed that the delegation had landed and everything is fine, and everyone is going home.

 

It's hard to lose your close ones… We still do not believe that he will no longer be with us, we still hear his voice, see his movements, gestures ...

 

He devoted his whole life to the service of the Motherland, the development of Abkhazia's relations with other countries, did everything for the sake of popularizing our Republic abroad, and had spared no effort. And the first contacts with Syria were established under his leadership..

 

Gennady Gaguliya was a unique person! It was a great fortune to work under his direction! Imagine, the manager moves on to another job, he was promoted to a higher position, was appointed to the position of the prime-minister of the country, and the staff stands and cries, does not want to let him go. Egoists? Probably, yes ... He told us that the Motherland is calling him ... He promised to be back and we believed him and were waiting for him...

 

 Mr. Gaguliya! Thank you for your genius, wisdom, patience, for every word, for every single day spent with us! Thank you for the invaluable experience, the lessons of life, for your hard work, which created each of us, created those whom we are today!

 

You have raised a generation that will not let you down! A generation that can proudly say that we worked under your authority! We are a team created by you and we are so proud to be your team!

 

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has become a home for us! We said goodbye to you, to our mentor at work and in life, with our beloved boss, but there were numerous ideas and deeds that you started and each of us, being a member of the CCI family, will follow the established course for the benefit of our country, the way you taught us! We will never let you down!

 

There is an ancient wise saying "A person lives as long as others remember him". You can say otherwise – one needs to do many good things in life, so that he will be remembered after death.

 

Gennady L. Gaguliya will always stay in our hearts and thoughts.