Tbilisi: The Georgian Minister of Environment and Agriculture Otar Shamugia met with the Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, Tani bin Ahmed Al-Zayudi. The meeting emphasized that the signing of a free trade agreement between Georgia and the UAE will be an important step towards deepening bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the countries.
“In recent years, the dynamics of trade in agricultural products among our countries have been growing, but there is even greater potential.” It is noteworthy that annually production and export of agricultural products in Georgia is growing by 15-20%.Â
The Free Trade Agreement with the UAE will have a positive impact in this direction and will allow us to deepen cooperation and attract investments in agricultural production, the development of storage and processing plants, the implementation of modern technologies, renewable energy, environmental protection and a number of other areas which will be successful And it will be profitable for both sides,” Otar Shamugia said.
 UAE State Minister for Foreign Trade, Tani bin Ahmed Al Zeidi, spoke about the importance of the Free Trade Agreement and noted that 85% of agricultural products are imported in the UAE, therefore, to ensure the food security of the United Arab Emirates, such agreements are given special importance. The United Arab Emirates is interested in investing in food security, address climate change and other key challenges.
 At the meeting, the parties agreed that in order to discuss in detail investment opportunities in both agricultural and environmental aspects, a delegation of representatives of the business sector of Georgia will visit in the near future. The process from the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture will be coordinated by the First Deputy Minister of Environment and Agriculture.
 The meeting had in attendence, the First Deputy Minister of Environment and Agriculture Giorgi Khanishvili, Ambassador of Georgia to the UAE Paata Kalandadze, Ambassador of the UAE to Georgia Ahmed Ibrahim Al Nuaimi, representatives of the United Arab Emirate government and business sector.
