Georgia forges closer ties with Gulf Cooperation Council

Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze hosted the General Secretary of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCO), Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, today to discuss areas of strategic cooperation between Georgia and GCO member states.

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, originally known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, is a regional, intergovernmental, political and economic union consisting of all the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq.

Its member states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

At the meeting Janelidze said Georgia was interested in deepening ties with the Arab states and pointed to the number of Georgian embassies in the region in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

In turn, the GCO highlighted the interest of a number of Arab states and companies in Georgia’s investment opportunities.

Janelidze and Al Zayani praised growing tourism ties between the two countries and affirmed the importance of the further development of tourism between Georgia and the states of the Persian Gulf.

Last year 60,929 tourists visited Georgia from the Arab States. Furthermore, Gulf Air, the principal flag carrier of Bahrain, will soon open a new route to Georgia with direct flights to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi this summer.

At the end of the meeting Janelidze and Al Zayani signed a memorandum of understanding to further promote cooperation between Georgia and the Gulf Cooperation Council.