“We hope that in 2024, Saudi Arabia’s FDI poured in Georgia will double,” Giorgi Vekua, Director of the Business and Regional Development Department at the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry , said at the business forum held in Saudi Arabia.
According to Giorgi Vekua, it was a very successful business forum attended by the Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia and deputy ministers that was a clear signal to Georgia.
“In recent years, we have had close cooperation with Saudi Arabia, which is confirmed by direct figures, bilateral trade and investment. FDI volumes between the two countries increased by 70% in 2021; in the first 3 quarters of 2023 FDI rocketed by 213%. We hope that in 2024 this figure will double compared with 2023. We are very optimistic that 2024 will be a record year for trade relations between the two countries, we have all the prerequisites for this,” Giorgi Vekua notes.
In Vekua’s words, the forum was attended by more than 100 business representatives from Georgia from various sectors of the economy - construction, IT, renewable energy sources, tourism, retail chains, etc.
The investment forums do not immediately affect the FDI.
“Today, no one has any illusions that contracts to be signed at the meetings, and investments to be made at that very moment. It is a process that sometimes takes a year or more to have a direct impact on the bilateral relationship. The results will be seen after some time,” Giorgi Vekua notes.
H e adds that Saudi entrepreneurs take a particular interest in the construction sector, tourism, medical tourism, mineral water production, soft drinks, and renewable energy sources.
“Saudi Arabia is a rich oil country developed 2030 Vision, a forward-thinking plan unveiled through pouring heavily into renewable energy,” Giorgi Vekua says.
