Georgia and Qatar are to sign an agreement on innovation and technology cooperation, the Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili announced on Tuesday (23 May).
The announcement came after the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani met in Doha on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum that is running from 23-25 May.
Davitashvili said that the Georgian delegation had meetings with a number of sectoral ministries in which they discussed opportunities for cooperation between Georgia and Qatar. Transport, logistics, and Georgia's key role in the Middle Corridor facilitating east-west trade were emphasised in the meetings, according to Davitashvili, who said that there is an increased interest in the country from "many states of the world, including Qatari investors", amid geopolitical challenges.
The meetings also touched on trade and economic issues, as well as the the agreements on Mutual Support and Protection of Investments and on Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation, signed last year between Georgia and Qatar.
"All this creates a very important prerequisite for us [Georgia] to be able to attract additional foreign direct investments from Qatar to Georgia and be significantly encouraging for the country’s economic growth, " said Davitashvili.
Garibashvili at the Qatar Economic Forum
Meanwhile, the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili said that the Georgian PM would be taking part in a panel discussion at the Qatar Economic Forum in which he would note the prospects of Georgia and the wider region.
"The Forum provides a unique opportunity to showcase [...] the economic potential of this or that country and region. The Prime Minister will take part in a panel discussion where he will talk about the potential of our country, the opportunities that our country [and] our region offer, and this is a good opportunity to talk with our partners about how to interest them in the economic potential of our country," Darchiashvili said.
Following his meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Georgian PM Garibashvili said that they "discussed economic relations between the countries and investment [opportunities] in Georgia. Strengthening bilateral partnership with Qatar is of utmost importance for Georgia to reach new milestones in our fruitful cooperation!"
