- The UAE-Georgia Business Forum held its first meeting, gathering representatives of companies and the private sector from both sides
- Thani Al Zeyoudi: Non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and Georgia doubled in 2022, hitting AED1.7 billion, and the two countries continue to advance their relations to the next level of common growth
- The forum included presentations on investment opportunities in the two countries’ markets which a forthcoming CEPA can accelerate
Tblisi, Georgia: His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, has led a UAE delegation of more than 30 business leaders to the Republic of Georgia, during which they participated in the first ever UAE-Georgia Business Forum in Tbilisi to promote bilateral investment and trade opportunities and private-sector collaboration.
The forum was inaugurated by HE Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi and His Excellency Levan Davichihvili, Georgia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, and attended by senior officials and leading representatives of the business communities in both countries.
Addressing the Forum, His Excellency heralded the new chapter in the countries’ relationship and pointed to greater trade and investment flows that both sides can now look forward to. “Over the last six months, the UAE and Georgia have been committed to pursuing a deeper, stronger partnership, to accelerate bilateral trade, boost investment and develop opportunities in priority sectors such as artificial intelligence, agriculture, tourism, transportation, energy and climate change. We have certainly laid strong foundations, sharing non-oil bilateral trade of AED1.7 billion (US$468 million) in 2022, which is 110% more than 2021. It is now important we create a platform for private-sector collaboration, in particular to enable startups and entrepreneurs to benefit from new markets.”
His Excellency highlighted the UAE’s beneficial investment climate that can offer Georgian enterprises a supportive ecosystem as well as unrivalled global connectivity to enable them to scale and expand. He highlighted the Ministry’s NextGenFDI initiative, which is offering a package of market-entry incentives – including fast-track businesses licensing, bulk visa issuance and access to banking – to companies operating in new economic sectors such as advanced technology, artificial intelligence, robotics and fintech.
On the sidelines of the UAE-Georgia Business Forum, HE Dr Thani met with a number of ministers and officials in the Georgian government, beginning with a bilateral meeting with HE Levan Davichihvili, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, and His Excellency Ilia Darsiashvili, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The two sides discussed the roadmap for the CEPA and pressed for more joint economic and commercial cooperation.
His Excellency Al Zeyoudi also held discussions with His Excellency Ottar Shamioga, Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture, to discuss food security and renewable energy projects, and His Excellency Irakli Karsiladze, Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure, to pursue investment opportunities in logistics and energy.
In addition to HE Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE delegation to Georgia included HE Ahmed Ibrahim Al Nuaimi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Georgia; HE Rashid Abdul Karim Al Balushi, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED); HE Juma Muhammad Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Economy; HE Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry; HE Jamal Jarwan, Secretary General of the Emirates Council for Investors Abroad, and a number of representatives of federal and local government agencies, businessmen and the private sector.
