Economy
Posted:
3 years ago
Georgia’s Foreign Trade Turnover with Saudi Arabia Triples
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava and Saudi Arabia Ambassador in Georgia Abdullah Al-Mutairi discussed trade-economic cooperation and other relevant issues.
Georgia-Saudi Arabia trade turnover in January-July 2020 tripled, while exports increased 9 times (up 818%), the Georgian Economy Minister noted.
As for cooperation in the field of investments, in the 2009-2019 period, investments from Saudi Arabia amounted to $100 million. In the first quarter of 2020, investments from Saudi Arabia rose 25 times compared to the same period of 2019.
At the meeting, the parties noted that the countries are preparing a new agreement on the promotion and protection of investments.
Georgia is interested to sign a free trade agreement with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States. Georgia and Arab countries have not still fully employed the existing trade potentials and there are wider opportunities for developing bilateral trade. At the meeting, the parties expressed interest in activating negotiations with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States.
The Parties also discussed the coming elections for the position of director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Before the pandemic, Georgia-Saudi Arabia's tourism cooperation was irreversibly growing and Saudi Arabia ranked 12th among Georgia’s top 15 countries in terms of tourist inflows.