The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce is in the process of collecting information about the export activities of some 1,340 local companies in an effort to determine which of them might benefit from closer economic ties between France and Georgia.
French companies located in the state also may be asked to provide information about their international activities in an effort to improve trade and investment flows between their country and Georgia.
Pepe Cummings, chamber vice president, international, said that the focus on France was “partially opportunistic” because Armelle Offner, a French student intern from Normandy who attends the Ecole Superieure de Commerce in Chambery, had joined the chamber’s staff for the summer. “Georgia and France haven’t matched on the business side of the ledger what they have on the social, cultural and educational side,” he said.
He also said that he considers this effort in line with the chamber’s “strategic business initiative” launched at the beginning of the year to consolidate ties with other business organizations around the world.
Mr. Cummings pointed to already established relationships between Georgia and France such as Atlanta’s Sister City relationship with Toulouse and the presence of an overseas campus of Georgia Tech in Metz as potential catalysts for the promotion of closer economic relations. And he said that companies currently doing business in Quebec might easily become involved in France.
For more information, Mr. Cummings may be reached at (404) 586-8462.