Georgia expresses support for Qatar’s food security efforts, says LuLu top exec

Georgia, which has increased its food exports to Qatar, is looking to further support the State’s food security strategy, Dr Mohamed Althaf, director of LuLu Group International, has said.Althaf said food security was among the several pressing topics he discussed with Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Khvtisiashvili, during his visit at LuLu Hypermarket in Abu Sidra Mall Monday.“We were honoured to receive the deputy minister; he is a very high-level dignitary and even during his hectic diplomatic activity, he spent a lot of time at LuLu Hypermarket Abu Sidra, which shows Georgia’s interest in doing business with Qatar and with LuLu,” Althaf told reporters on the sidelines of the visit.Aside from food security, Althaf said his meeting with the deputy minister also focused on how to increase Georgia’s food exports to the region and Qatar, such as different types of Georgian meats, particularly lamb; they also discussed ways to collaborate in promoting Georgia and Qatar.“There are two aspects to food security. One is we become self-reliant on production, while the second is that we keep our supply chain level open and diversify it. One leg of the food security is done quite successfully in Qatar, which is to encourage local production.“The second leg is to diversify the sources because as we witnessed in the past two years, a lot of countries worldwide had logistics problems and environmental challenges, as well as extreme weather conditions and disruptions, but you don’t find a shortage in Qatar in spite of all these problems in previous years. That is because we also have this sourcing policy for good, quality products from all over the world,” Althaf explained.Althaf also said the deputy minister was impressed with the economic development achieved by Qatar and the food security measures the State has implemented.Khvtisiashvili said LuLu has played a significant role in increasing Georgia’s exports to Qatar by bringing in more Georgian food and agricultural products to the country through its extensive chain of hypermarkets.“It is a prestige to bring Georgian products to LuLu stores because of the great partnership we have forged with them. Our collaboration with this hypermarket chain has been a big advantage for us.“We are planning to increase the quantity and the range of our products. We are inviting LuLu to visit Georgia to explore other products that could be exported to Qatar. Beyond meats and juices, there are also some other products to be discovered in our country, such as agricultural products that we would like to sell here,” he said.