The Global Investors Forum (GIF 2025) has concluded its sessions in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, with the launch of the Saudi–Georgian Investment Platform, amid a high-profile international presence and strong interest from senior government officials, business leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs.

The closing day witnessed exceptional momentum, underscoring the forum’s standing as a prominent international platform that brings together the visions of GCC and Eurasian countries and reshapes the future pathways of investment cooperation between the two regions. GIF 2025 was held in strategic partnership with EurAsia Gulf, and GI Holding as the main partner, and with the support of the Embassy of Georgia in the United Arab Emirates and the Hong Kong – Middle East Business Chamber. The event is also sponsored by Petra Group, Evaluations, D&B Properties and Royal B.

The second day opened with a welcome address that highlighted the importance of economic dialogue and its role in expanding the scope of partnerships and integration between markets. The session saw contributions from H.E. Salah Al Shamsi, Chairman of Liwa Investment, and Dr Rock Mehanna, Board Member and Strategic Adviser to Evolutions and D&B Properties. The session set the stage for the launch of the Saudi–Georgian Investment Platform, one of the forum’s key initiatives this year.

The key highlight of the closing day was the official launch of the Saudi–Georgian Investment Platform, one of the most significant outcomes of this year’s forum. The announcement was made in the presence of Ahmed Al Dakheel, Chairman of the Saudi Business Council – Central Asian Countries and Chairman of the Saudi–Georgian Business Council; George Svanidze, Founder of Petra Group; and Ahmed Al Areej, Chairman of World Luxury Group. Also in attendance were Dr Tasyir Al Khunaizi, Partner and Deputy CEO of the Georgia Saudi Investment Corporation, and Dr Sadeddine Mneimne, Chairman of AGI Holding and Chairman of the Global Investors Forum.

This agreement marks a pivotal milestone in the economic relations between the two countries, establishing an institutional framework that supports the flow of bilateral investments and enables the implementation of joint projects across key sectors, including tourism and hospitality, health and wellness, agriculture, logistics, and other promising development initiatives.

The Saudi–Georgian Investment Platform is a joint investment venture between Saudi and Georgian businessmen, operating as a commercial entity with clear governance structures that ensure a secure and transparent environment for investors. Ahmed Al Areej, Chairman of World Luxury Group, underscored that the platform aims to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the two countries by launching a ready-made investment portfolio worth hundreds of millions of dollars, encompassing tourism, wellness, service and development projects in both Saudi Arabia and Georgia.

Al Areej outlined that Georgia holds significant natural resources and vast opportunities in property development and wellness projects, in addition to being an emerging and renewed tourism destination. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, leads the regional economy thanks to its huge potential in mining, energy, real estate development and tourism, making the integration of the two economies an ideal opportunity to create joint projects with shared strategic value.

In his address, Dr Sadeddine Mneimne, Chairman of AGI Holding and Chairman of the Global Investors Forum, underlined that the forum was established to serve as a bridge connecting East and West, and as a vision that brings together governments, investors and innovators to build a future shaped not by geography, but by partnerships, courage and shared visions. He added: “My commitment to this forum is clear: to build a platform that does not stop at its current boundaries but continues to evolve and expand until it becomes a global engine for creating opportunities and shaping the economies of tomorrow.”

Dr Sadeddine Mneimne, and Farah Harb, Co-Founder of Innovents ME, announced the new destinations set to host the Global Investors Forum 2026. The upcoming edition will take place across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Dominican Republic, in an expansion that reflects the forum’s growing international presence and its rising influence on the global investment map.

The launch of the platform came as a direct outcome of two days of discussions at the forum, and as a result of the sessions and bilateral business networking meetings in creating common ground for cooperation among investors and exchange of insightful views between the Saudi and Georgian sectors. The new platform is expected to strengthen cross-border partnerships, ease investors’ entry into high-potential markets and support entrepreneurs and value-added initiatives.

During the closing day, several business institutions and international companies delivered comprehensive presentations on strategic projects and diverse investment opportunities across sectors including technology, finance, professional services, real estate, artificial intelligence, ports and tourism. These sessions enabled participants to explore a wide range of promising investment prospects.

GIF 2025 saw the participation of an elite group of senior international figures, including His Excellency Salah Al Shamsi, Chairman of Liwa Investment; Dr Tasyir Al Khunaizi, Partner and Deputy CEO of the Georgia Saudi Investment Corporation; Aref Al Abbar, Chairman of the Emirates Hobbies Association; and Ahmed Al Dakheel, Chairman of the Saudi Business Council – Central Asian Countries and Chairman of the Saudi–Georgian Business Council.

Other notable participants included George Svanidze, Founder of Petra Group; Ahmed Al Areej, Chairman of World Luxury Group; Dr Arif Anis, internationally recognised leadership expert and recipient of the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE); and Dr Rock Mehanna, Board Member and Strategic Adviser to Evolutions and D&B Properties and ABMC, along with a number of ministers, ambassadors, heads of chambers of commerce, leaders of economic institutions from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Georgia and other countries.

In conclusion, the Global Investors Forum 2025 reaffirmed its leading role in transforming economic dialogue into practical steps and actionable agreements that open new horizons for international investment cooperation. The launch of the Saudi–Georgian Investment Platform stands as a testament to the forum’s ability to shape meaningful initiatives that support the shared economic visions of the Gulf and Eurasian regions. The platform also lays the groundwork for future projects capable of making a tangible impact on the pathways for development and regional integration.

Exclusive interview with Debashish Guha Roy, Director, Covoro^TM

COVORO YouCloud marked its presence as Diamond Sponsor at the Tax Technology Summit 2025, held on 06 December in Dubai, where a joint venture between the companies formally showcased its FTA-aligned e-invoicing and tax compliance platform. The event served as a key platform to highlight YouCloud’s unified approach to tax digitisation, featuring seamless ERP integrations, real-time validation, and end-to-end compliance capabilities designed for enterprises preparing for the UAE’s national e-invoicing mandate. With a strong emphasis on local delivery, in-country data hosting, and enterprise-grade security, COVORO YouCloud demonstrated how organisations can transition from standalone invoicing tools to a fully integrated, future-ready compliance ecosystem.

You mentioned that YouCloud offers a one-stop solution covering invoicing, accounts payable, reconciliation, analytics, legislation management, and tax filing. After this event, what key takeaways were you hoping the audience would leave with?

Our primary objective was to formally announce the new joint venture in the UAE market and make it clear that there is now a new local player offering a complete, end-to-end platform.

Many competitors operate in this space, but most of them deliver from outside the country or rely on offshore support models. Our key differentiator is local delivery, local data hosting, and in-country support. We wanted the audience to understand that this is not just an invoicing solution. It is a comprehensive compliance and finance ecosystem.

Another important takeaway was helping enterprises think beyond solving a single problem. Compliance is not static. What starts as invoicing quickly evolves into reconciliation, analytics, filing, litigation management, and financing enablement. That is what we have already built.

The audience at the event was extremely knowledgeable, which made communication easier. They understood the challenges ahead and could immediately see the value of a unified platform.

How do you see the broader GCC tax digitisation journey evolving in 2025 and 2026?

Globally, Europe set the precedent with the PEPPOL standard, which allows interoperability across countries. A similar journey is unfolding in the GCC.

Saudi Arabia follows its own model and is not PEPPOL-based. The UAE has adopted a PEPPOL-based framework, and Oman is expected to follow next. Over time, we will see the emergence of a GCC-wide tax interoperability framework.

This will enable smoother inter-country transactions, simplified VAT refunds, and unified compliance processes. Similar to how consumers today can claim VAT refunds easily when travelling, enterprises will experience a much simpler, more transparent system.

Because transaction records sit with tax authorities, validation becomes easier. This enables cross-border supplier financing, trade financing, and smoother compliance overall.

How do you see technology, especially AI, shaping the next phase of this journey?

Technology, particularly AI, will play a critical role in automating end-to-end compliance. It will significantly reduce errors, remove delays, and improve accuracy.

From a CFO’s perspective, AI-driven systems ensure real-time visibility, timely compliance, and reduced manual intervention. Processes that once required paperwork, reconciliation, and repetitive validation will become automated and real-time.

This directly improves compliance quality and decision-making while lowering risk.

How does YouCloud address security and privacy concerns for large enterprises?

Security and data privacy are foundational for us. YouCloud is ISO certified, GDPR-compliant, and fully aligned with the UAE’s National Information Assurance Framework (NIAF).

From day one, our approach has been sovereign by design. All data is hosted in-country. There is no external cloud hosting, no offshore disaster recovery, and no remote support from outside the UAE.

This has always been a core requirement for us, especially given our long-term presence in the region. Enterprises and government entities need assurance that their data remains within national boundaries and under strict regulatory control.

How does your solution help CFOs and senior decision-makers manage complexity?

• CFOs typically face three major challenges:
• Conducting accurate risk and gap assessments
• Implementing solutions efficiently
• Ensuring scalability for future requirements

By offering a single, end-to-end platform, we significantly reduce this burden. CFOs do not need to evaluate separate tools for invoicing, accounts receivable, analytics, or compliance reporting.

Everything operates within one framework, with one dashboard, one data model, and one compliance architecture. This simplifies decision-making and provides clear, real-time visibility across all financial and compliance functions.

Could you briefly explain how some of your core modules work, such as e-invoicing and accounts payable?

The e-invoicing module collects invoice data from various ERP and accounting systems and converts it into the format required by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA).

Each ERP or accounting system produces data in a different format, while the FTA expects a standardised structure. YouCloud acts as an intelligent adaptor, performing data homogenisation. If mandatory data is missing, the system flags it and sends it back for correction. Only validated, compliant data is submitted to the FTA.

For accounts payable, the focus is on managing input and output VAT accurately. Traditional processes require manual extraction, spreadsheet matching, and reconciliation. Our platform automates this process by validating transactional data in real time, removing the need for manual intervention and reducing reconciliation errors.

Where do you see YouCloud’s growth in the UAE and GCC over the coming years?

In the UAE alone, we are targeting at least a 20% market share, which represents a significant volume of invoices and transactions.

The initial phase focuses on B2B and B2G transactions above the AED 50 million threshold. The next phase will expand to all enterprises, followed by retail and B2C transactions.

Retail presents the most complex compliance challenge due to volume and diversity. To address this, we are developing a hardware-based solution for retailers. Many small retailers are not equipped to manage API integrations, so we provide a simple plug-and-play device that connects to their existing systems and links directly to our backend.

This approach removes complexity for small businesses while ensuring full compliance. The B2C phase will generate the highest invoice volumes and is the most challenging, but it is also where our combined hardware and software strategy will set us apart.

ATERMES, a French leader in advanced surveillance and security solutions, announces in partnership with The Imperial Electric Company (IEC), the award of a major contract by the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) for the deployment of a state-of-the-art Bird Repelling System (BRS) at Lahore International Airport.

This milestone project represents a first-of-its-kind integrated solution combining SURICATE, ATERMES’ advanced AI-enabled multi-sensor surveillance system, with acoustic and laser deterrence technologies. The system delivers a fully automated, intelligent, and environmentally friendly approach to mitigating bird-strike risks; one of aviation’s most persistent safety challenges.

The SURICATE system, developed by ATERMES in France, brings together cutting-edge optronics, embedded AI, and edge computing to continuously monitor airfields, identify potential avian threats in real time, and automatically activate deterrence mechanisms.

Once a bird threat is detected by the system’s deep-learning algorithms, SURICATE autonomously triggers the surrounding acoustic and laser repellers, driving the birds away from critical flight zones such as runways and taxiways.

This unique synergy between AI-based detection and automated multi-modal deterrence marks a turning point in airport security and environmental protection. Unlike traditional manual or time-based repelling systems, the BRS for Lahore Airport operates only when necessary, optimizing energy use and minimizing disturbance to the surrounding ecosystem.

Lionel Thomas, Chairman of ATERMES, stated: “This project is not just about technology; it’s about redefining how airports ensure safety through intelligence. By merging AI, optics, and deterrence, we’re transforming bird control into a predictive, autonomous, and eco-responsible process.”

Sajid Jamal, Executive Director of The Imperial Electric Company, added: “Our partnership with ATERMES reflects Pakistan’s growing commitment to embracing advanced, AI-driven safety systems. Lahore will become the first airport in the region equipped with such an integrated and intelligent Bird Repelling System.”

The project underscores a strong collaboration between France and Pakistan in technological innovation. ATERMES will provide the detection and control systems, while IEC, a key player in Pakistan’s engineering and infrastructure sectors, will oversee integration, installation, and local support. Together, they will ensure the delivery of a robust, scalable, and sustainable system that sets a benchmark for other international airports in the region.