NDI survey: 16% increase in people who believe Georgia should limit economic ties with Russia
The number of people believing the EU will improve the Georgian economy has increased to 62 percent following Russia's launch of its invasion of Ukraine in February, the same survey indicates. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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The number of people in Georgia who believe the country should limit its economic ties with Russia has increased by 16 percent, a new survey published by the National Democratic Institute on Thursday shows.
The NDI poll also revealed the European Union, the United States and Turkey were the top three most desired economic partners for the majority of Georgians following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The number of people believing the EU will improve the Georgian economy has increased to 62 percent following Russia's launch of its invasion of Ukraine in February, the same survey indicates.
The poll also shows ruling party supporters and senior citizens being “more likely to approve not joining economic sanctions against Russia," NDI said.
Image: NDI
The findings also reveal 81 percent of people believe the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine will negatively affect the economic well-being of their families, while 80 percent expect an economic decline in the country.
The survey was carried out by the NDI and the Georgian office of the Caucasus Research Resource Centers with a total of 2,036 complete interviews recorded between February 3-15, while 2,024 interviews were conducted between March 9-20.
The number of Georgian companies exporting to the European Union in 2021 comprised an increase of more than 70 percent compared to the figure before the 2014 signing of the Association Agreement (AA), Deputy Economy Minister Genadi Arveladze said on Tuesday.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has convinced the Georgian population that the country will benefit more from closer ties with the European Union and NATO than with Russia, a new survey released on Thursday by the US National Democratic Institute and CRRC Georgia said.
Turkey ($562.4 million), China ($461.9 million) and Russia ($383.3 million) were the top trading partners of Georgia in its total external trade turnover in January-March 2022, preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia show.
Georgia’s previous 80 percent dependence on wine exports to the Russian market has dropped to 57 percent, Otar Shamugia, the Georgian Agriculture Minister, said on Monday.
International companies leaving the Russian and Belarusian markets due to the war in Ukraine is an “opportunity” for Georgia to attract new businesses and new investments, and create new jobs in the country, Irakli Nadareishvili, the Deputy Economy Minister, said on Thursday.
The European Union has been named as the most important economic partner of Georgia by 54 percent of citizens of the country in a new nationwide survey conducted by the International Republican Institute.
Three quarters of Georgian citizens support the country’s European Union membership, while 69 percent remain committed to it joining NATO, a new survey released on Friday by the US National Democratic Institute and CRRC Georgia said.