The Deputy Prime Minister/Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia participated in the Raisina Middle East conference held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She delivered remarks at a panel discussion entitled “Resilience, Partnerships and the Road Ahead: The Gulf's Strategic Future”.

Maka Botchorishvili highlighted the geopolitical context, the importance of economic cooperation between Georgia and the United Arab Emirates, the regional dimension of the partnership between the two countries and opportunities for developing the Middle Corridor.

The Minister focused on Georgia’s geopolitical location and its potential to access to international markets. She noted that economic partnerships with various countries create additional opportunities for Georgia.

“Georgia is a country that has 16 free trade agreements, and it also places significant importance on what we are doing in the region. It is a small country, but geopolitically located in a very attractive place, and the economic partnerships that we are developing, of course, bring additional value to Georgia. So we have free trade agreements with the European Union, with all neighboring countries, with the CIS countries, with China, with the United Arab Emirates, and with different regions. So that creates these unique opportunities for Georgia”, - said Maka Botchorishvili.

She also spoke about the regional significance of cooperation between Georgia and the United Arab Emirates. She noted that the partnership between the two countries extends beyond the bilateral framework and contributes to the development of regional cooperation.

“Definitely our cooperation, our partnership goes beyond bilateral frames and frameworks and influences regional cooperation. These two regions are very important, and these connections between the two regions are very important for the wider region, and maybe globally as well”, - emphasized the Minister.

In the context of developing regional cooperation and economic ties, Maka Botchorishvili underscored the importance of the Middle Corridor: “Today, Georgia is connecting not only the South Caucasus but also Central Asian countries to European and world markets, which is very important from the East-West connectivity point of view”.

She also focused on the impact of conflicts in the region, noting that developments following the dissolution of the USSR had not been conducive to the emergence of the South Caucasus as a connectivity hub. Nevertheless, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye have successfully implemented a number of energy and transport projects, which now provide a solid foundation for strengthening regional connectivity and further developing the Middle Corridor.

According to Maka Botchorishvili, fully realising the region’s potential requires deepening cooperation, building trust-based partnerships and developing opportunities for future cooperation: “What we have to do is create more trusted and reliable partnerships, not only in times of crisis but also when the situation is calm”.

The Deputy Prime Minister also highlighted the importance of investment in infrastructure development and in deepening cooperation with various regions.

“We are talking about dependency, and that dependency is definitely not a recipe for resilience. That’s what we need to do: diversify and build new cooperation and partnerships”, - said Maka Botchorishvili.

The panel discussion also featured Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, Manish Tewari, Member of the lower house of the Parliament of India, and Bisher Al-Khasawneh, former Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Jordan.