The UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani al-Zeyoudi, and Georgia's Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Natia Turnava, officially launched talks to establish a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
CEPA aims to build on both nations' deep and evolving trade and investment ties.
The UAE's non-oil foreign trade with Georgia in the first ten months of 2021 exceeded $165 million, with a 33 percent growth compared to the same period in 2020.
As a strategic gateway to African and Asian markets, the UAE accounts for more than 60 percent of Georgia's trade with Arab countries and more than 40 percent of its trade with the Middle East and North Africa.
The UAE is also Georgia's most important source of foreign direct investment from the Arab world and the sixth-largest globally.
The launch of CEPA talks was followed by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on economic cooperation at the Expo 2020 Dubai.
Both countries agreed to expand cooperation in transportation and logistics, hospitality and real estate, small and medium-sized enterprises, industry and mining, food security and agriculture, tourism, science, technology, telecommunications and innovation, finance and banking, infrastructure and construction, and environment.
Following the agreement, Zeyoudi said Georgia and the UAE enjoy close cultural, diplomatic, and economic ties that have evolved and strengthened to establish their partnership over the years.
"We are already active trading partners and, as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, we must prepare for the future by developing a deeper trade and investment relationship."
The launch of talks on the UAE-Georgia CEPA reflects the shared desire to work together to enhance the capacity of the private sector, promote startups and entrepreneurs, improve market access and substantially increase the volume of two-way trade, according to the Emirati official.
For her side, Turnava said that bolstering of UAE-Georgian relations had become an increasing priority to both nations as bilateral trade grows, and there is a shared desire and ambition to build on these relations further with a mutually-beneficial comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
