UAE and Georgia sign Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

The UAE and Georgia have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, with the aim of trebling non-oil trade from $481 million to $1.5 billion within five years.

This agreement was witnessed by Emirati Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Garibashvili. Sheikh Mohammed said that the partnership is testament to the UAE’s unwavering efforts to boost economic growth and trade ties with allied nations, the Emirates News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Praising the invaluable contributions from the leadership of the UAE, Garibashvili said: “The CEPA forms the bedrock for an even stronger trade bond between our nations.”

Officials said the agreement aims to deepen trade and investment ties, with a focus on job creation, boosting supply chains, and facilitating easier market access across Asia, Europe and the Middle East for businesses from both countries. A significant aspect of the deal includes reducing tariffs on 95 percent of product lines, which is expected to further enhance the value of non-oil trade, they added.

“Both the UAE and Georgia are poised at strategic intersections of global trade. This alliance will pave the way for an enhanced era of collaboration and mutual growth,” said the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade, Thani Al-Zeyoudi.

The agreement is the latest to be signed under the UAE’s new foreign trade agenda, as the country strives to enhance international trade relations, following previous deals with India, Israel and Indonesia.