The Agreement On Mutual Protection of Investments between the Government of Georgia and the Government of Hungary was published in the Legislative Gazette. According to the text of the document, it aims to protect the rights of investors operating in the two countries and promote mutual investments. The treaty was signed on July 19, 2024, and will enter into force on January 24, 2025.

The document outlines various mechanisms for promoting investment and defines a process for the compensation of losses. Specifically, it stipulates that the state of Georgia is obligated to compensate Hungarian investors for any losses caused by Georgia, and similarly, Georgian investors must be compensated by the state of Hungary for any losses caused by Hungary, should a relevant arbitration or international court ruling come into force.

According to data from GEOSTAT, Hungary is not a significant investor in Georgia. In the first nine months of 2024, Hungary’s share in the $966 million of investments in Georgia was negative, with a net investment loss of $2.9 million. This suggests either the transfer or sale of assets or LLCs created by Hungarian investors to Georgian owners, or debt servicing by a Hungarian investment company to its parent entity. Over the past several years, Hungarian foreign direct investment (FDI) in Georgia has remained relatively modest, with figures of $1.2 million in 2023, $2.7 million in 2022, $4 million in 2021, $1.4 million in 2020, and $2.9 million in 2019. Given the small scale of these investments, the signing of the Agreement on Mutual Protection of Investments appears to be more a demonstration of the ongoing partnership between the governments of Georgia and Hungary than a response to the immediate needs of investors.

Furthermore, the document specifies that its validity will expire if Georgia becomes a member of the European Union, as the protection of investors' rights between EU member states is governed by EU legislation, which will apply to Georgia once it joins the EU.