Georgia is expected to add more organic products and meat, particularly lamb, to the Qatari market in the near future as demand continues to increase, ambassador Nikoloz Revazishvili has said.
“I see the big potential in many kind of berries. We have a lot of production of blueberries, strawberries, and now the season is coming. I hope this is a good opportunity and also Georgian lamb is of high demand in Qatar, and it is of high quality. I see a big potential in this as well,” the envoy told reporters on the sidelines of Georgian Food Festival opening recently.
The ongoing event, being held at LuLu stores across the country in co-operation with the Embassy of Georgia in Qatar, showcases a wide range of Georgian products such as grocery food, meat and meat products, smoothies, organic juices, fruits and vegetables, among others.
The envoy said the festival is offering around 50 to 60 different Georgian products and plans “to bring a lot of Georgian taste to Doha” soon.
“I think we have a niche in organic products and we have now different companies representing here who are offering organic fresh juice and smoothies,” he added.
Revazishvili noted that they are also working with Widam and other Qatari companies who are keen on Georgian lamb and further increasing Georgia’s meat exports to Qatar.
The envoy also announced that Qatari citizens and residents who have been fully vaccinated can now travel to Georgia visa-free and quarantine-free. Parents who have been fully vaccinated are required to show a negative PCR test for their children travelling with them.
He said the embassy has been receiving numerous calls from travellers in Qatar asking about travel regulations.
Currently, Qatar Airways operates daily flights to Georgia and the embassy is in talks with the airline to have flights to another Georgian city, Batumi, which is also a very popular touristic destination, according to Revazishvili.
“You only need two hours and 30 minutes to reach Tbilisi (from Doha) and I hope this is a good sign because after pandemic we need to come back to our normal lives as we lived before and to be able to travel,” he said, adding that many Qatari and residents have visited Georgia in recent years.
The envoy lauded the Qatar government in preventing the spread of Covid-19 and its vaccination process which he described as “going on perfectly.”
“Many people are vaccinated which means they are able to travel safely and I think the Government of Qatar did an amazing job to fight this pandemic, to help many other countries fight this pandemic,” he stressed.
He also highlighted the strong and friendly relations between Qatar and Georgia saying that high-level visits took place before the Covid-19 pandemic last year.
“I do hope in future we will even enhance our bilateral co-operation in every field, in economy, trade, business to business, political, among others,” Revazishvili said.
He noted that trade volume between the two countries is increasing annually to around 5% to 10 %, but he expects that with such initiative (Georgian Food Festival) and other initiatives, figures would be even higher by the end of the year and the years to come.
The envoy said the embassy will participate in a Qatar tourism event in November to promote Georgia as a destination.
 
 
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