Georgia's foreign debt increased by 6.1 bln GEL, domestic debt by 1.8 bln GEL

The government of Georgia will take a new loan worth 4.47 billion GEL to handle the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the anti-crisis budget for 2020 presented today.

The emergency funding has been brought in from the following organisations:

• Asian Development Bank - 1.455 billion GEL
• KFW - 805 million GEL 
• International Monetary Fund - 603 million GEL 
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank - 450 million GEL 
• French Development Bank - 439 million GEL 
• World Bank - 396 million GEL 
• EU - 241 million GEL 

Overall, in 2020 the government of Georgia will increase foreign debt by 6.1 billion GEL, and domestic debt by 1.8 billion GEL. Also, the budget deficit will increase from 2.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent.

The increase in the deficit is, of course, directly related to the increase in government debt. According to the current forecast, by the end of this year, the volume of debt will approach 55 per cent of the GDP", reads the budget.

According to the budget, it is necessary to gradually reduce the government's debt in the coming years and to return to the pre-crisis parameters as soon as possible. 

In order to achieve this goal, the borrowing rate will be significantly reduced from 2021, and therefore the volume of debt in relation to GDP will be partially reduced next year", reads the budget.

Click here to read more about the anti-crisis budget 2020.