Levan Davitashvili: Georgia and Qatar will begin free trade negotiations

Georgia and Qatar will begin free trade negotiations. According to First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili, the decision was made during his meeting with Qatari Minister of Trade and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani.

The meeting was held within the framework of Levan Davitashvili's visit to Qatar and covered a wide range of issues of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, including investment, energy, tourism, transport and communications.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aleksandre Khvtisiashvili participated in the meeting from the Georgian side.

"During the meeting with the Minister of Trade and Industry of Qatar, we discussed the main issues of economic cooperation. At a practical level, we talked about the fact that the agreements that exist between the two countries should be implemented and a specific format will be created for this. During the year, we will already have business delegations visiting Georgia and Qatar in order to further deepen trade and economic relations. At the same time, the decision that we will begin negotiations on a free trade agreement with Qatar - just like we have with the United Arab Emirates, this will be an independent format, and not a free trade agreement with the entire Persian Gulf countries - was of great importance," the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development said.

According to Levan Davitashvili, negotiations between the countries on this issue may take place as early as this year, within the framework of the 5th Silk Road Forum. The First Vice Prime Minister invited the Qatari delegation to Tbilisi to participate in the forum, which will be held on October 22-23.

"Of course, this will be an additional incentive for deepening economic cooperation. We hope that the Qatari delegation will visit Georgia and specific negotiations will be held within the framework of the International Silk Road Forum. All this, of course, will strengthen economic ties between the two countries," - noted Levan Davitashvili.

In addition, according to the Vice Prime Minister, the Qatar Economic Forum is an interesting platform and everything will help us to increase Georgia's economic attractiveness in the eyes of investors.

"The Qatar Economic Forum is a very interesting platform, where many international guests come - both business and government representatives, and we are given the opportunity to share information about the Georgian economy and the Georgian investment environment with potential investors. The meetings with the delegation of the United States of America, with Europeans, and of course, with representatives of the Persian Gulf were very interesting. All this will help us to increase Georgia's economic attractiveness in the eyes of investors," - noted the First Vice Prime Minister.

The Georgian delegation, led by the First Vice Prime Minister, participated in the fifth Qatar Economic Forum. The forum was held under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and supported by Bloomberg, and was attended by more than 2,500 global leaders from around the world. Within the framework of the forum, the Georgian delegation participated in several sessions, where speakers were high-ranking political leaders and heads of international companies, including: Ryan M. Lance, Chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips, Donald Trump Jr., Vice President of 1789, Mary Callahan Erdoğan, Executive Director of Asset and Wealth Management of J.P. Morgan, and others.