UAE Businesses Invited to Invest in Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday welcomed investments in his country from the UAE following his talks with the UAE President H H Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his visit to the Gulf nation.

The meeting between Kobakhidze and the UAE president focused on various issues regarding bilateral cooperation, as well as the positive dynamic in deepening investment and economic ties between Tbilisi and Abu Dhabi.

The Georgian Prime Minister said that his government welcomes UAE investments in his country, adding that they also welcome the interest of major development and logistics companies to invest in Georgia.

In this context, the large investment of Abu Dhabi Ports Group in the Tbilisi Dry Port project, expected to open in 2025, was emphasized, and so was the successful completion of negotiations with EMAAR, a major developer, as a result of which multi-billion investments will be made in Georgia.

The Georgian government also conveyed its interest in continuing negotiations with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to further expand cooperation in terms of strategic logistics and transport projects.

CEPA Treaty

The UAE and Georgia have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), on 10 October 2023, which came into effect from 27 June 2024, provides numerous advantages for businesses.

The UAE-Georgia CEPA is expected to more than triple the total value of non-oil trade between the two countries to $1.5 billion within five years, while adding $3.9 billion to the UAE’s GDP and $291 million to Georgia’s GDP by 2031.

In addition, the deal is expected to substantially increase UAE exports to Georgia to reach $1.3 billion by 2031, with key UAE exports set to benefit including refined sugar, electrical appliances, vehicles and parts, polymers and machinery among others.

The UAE is already Georgia’s leading trading partner in the Arab world, accounting for over 63% of its total trade with the region. The agreement was based on robust and rapidly growing economic ties between the two countries that saw bilateral non-oil trade reach $511.2 million in 2023, a growth of 6.3% compared with 2022.

The UAE is Georgia’s sixth-largest global investor, accounting for 5% of its total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows. The CEPA also aims to accelerate investment flows in key sectors, including tourism and hospitality, real estate, renewable energy, retail and wholesale, transport and logistics, manufacturing, electrical equipment and construction materials.