On January 22, a meeting was held between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Abdulla Nasser Lootah, who serves as the Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Competitiveness and Knowledge Exchange in the United Arab Emirates.

As outlined in the government administration's press release, the agenda of this meeting was centered around the bilateral relations and collaborative efforts between Georgia and the UAE. The conversation highlighted the increased frequency of recent high-level visits, underlining Georgia's keen interest in enhancing and nurturing its partnerships and amicable relations with the nations in the Gulf region.

The discussions also ventured into the realm of governance cooperation. Additionally, they covered the attractive investment climate and potential in Georgia. Prime Minister Garibashvili elaborated on Georgia's pivotal role in bolstering connectivity and transit routes linking Europe and Asia, as well as with Middle Eastern countries.

During this meeting, a key point of discussion was the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Georgia and the UAE. Prime Minister Garibashvili pointed out that this agreement forms a solid basis for fostering more intensive and integrated trade and economic relations between the two countries.

Abdulla Nasser Lootah, on behalf of the UAE's Prime Minister, invited the Georgian Prime Minister to attend the World Governments Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Dubai from February 12 to 14. The head of the Georgian government expressed a commitment to utilize this summit as a platform for reinforcing cooperation with its global partners.

Imports account for 71.7% of Georgia's trade turnover of 21.5 billion. In 2023, 15.4 billion dollars were spent from Georgia to purchase goods of various names, which is 14% higher than last year. According to official statistics, last year, for the first time, the United Arab Emirates took the eighth place in the top ten largest importing countries of Georgia. In 2023, Georgia bought goods worth 383 million 429 thousand dollars from the UAE. This number increased by 35.4% from what was recorded in 2022. As a result, the share of the United Arab Emirates in Georgia's total imports amounted to 2.5%.

Exports have a small place in the trade turnover between Georgia and the United Arab Emirates. Last year, only 53 million 768 thousand dollars worth of goods were sent from Georgia to the Arab country, 72.7% more than the 2022 export. The record number of Georgian exports to the UAE before the pandemic was recorded in 2019 when the country received 65 million 399 thousand dollars from the sale of goods in the Gulf country. 

According to official statistics, in 2023, Georgian exports to the United Arab Emirates increased at the expense of re-exports of automobiles. The cost of 370 cars exported in this direction last year amounted to 17 million 609 thousand dollars. The trend is expected to remain in place in 2024.