World Bank supports two new projects in Georgia moving country towards “greener, more resilient” development
Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili emphasised the “deep appreciation” of the World Bank’s support in “all key sectors” for the country and highlighted that the new project would contribute to the “long-lasting and successful cooperation” between the Bank and the country. He thanked the Bank for contributing to the development of Georgia and expressed hope to “further deepen” the “fruitful” cooperation. Photo via ituc-csi.org
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The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved two new projects for Georgia to contribute to a “greener and more resilient” development of Georgia, the Bank announced on Friday.
Both newly approved projects, the $75 million Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation, and Land project and the $50 million First Green and Resilient Georgia Development Policy Operation programme will support the adoption of a new law on National Spatial Data Infrastructure, the introduction of a new tariff-setting methodology for irrigation water, and regulatory changes to facilitate e-Payments.
Georgia, like many other countries, is exposed to climate change and has an opportunity to step up its mitigation and adaptation efforts,” said Sebastian Molineus, the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, noting the Bank would also support the country as “it embarks on its last mile structural reforms” to align state institutions to EU requirements.
Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili emphasised the “deep appreciation” of the World Bank’s support in “all key sectors” for the country and highlighted that the new project would contribute to the “long-lasting and successful cooperation” between the Bank and the country. He thanked the Bank for contributing to the development of Georgia and expressed hope to “further deepen” the “fruitful” cooperation.
On his part, Otar Shamugia, the Agriculture Minister, also hailed the approval of the GRAIL project and noted it would support the development of national irrigation and land management systems capacity, as well as bring benefits to farmers in Georgia. “GRAIL also supports the implementation of the Georgian Government’s vision on land sector development, as reflected in the 2021-2024 Toward Building a European State Programme, which considers land reform one of the top priorities for Georgia”, he added.
The GRAIL project includes the improvement of access to irrigation and drainage services, which aims to “boost agricultural production” in the country, with the farmers and agricultural enterprises becoming the primary beneficiaries of the project and the rural population also benefiting from “enhanced services”.
The second programme, First Green and Resilient Georgia DPO, aiming to reduce fiscal risks, will support Georgia in greening economic activity, mitigating fiscal risks, and building the institutional capacity for better access to land, water, and financial services, as well as promote enhanced governance of State-owned Enterprises and improvements in disaster risks financing.
World Bank will allocate $400 million for the Human Capital Programme for Georgia, calling it “the largest cross-sectorial investment” for the country over 30 years of partnership.
Georgia has been ranked first among 59 countries for the "continuous improvement" of performance in Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment, an index compiled by the World Bank, the Ministry of Finance of Georgia announced on Wednesday.
Georgia’s "sound economic management" and "good business environment" will continue to support economic activity, but further reforms will be required to keep the gross domestic product growth between 4-4.5 percent, according to the World Bank’s Country Economic Memorandum for Georgia, released on Tuesday.
A human capital programme designed to unlock Georgia’s growth potential through investments in health, education and social protection has been launched in the country, the World Bank announced on Tuesday.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development will allocate €46.2 million for enabling development of sustainable agriculture, irrigation and land market in Georgia, the Ministry of Finance of Georgia announced on Monday.
The dynamics of cooperation between the Government of Georgia and the World Bank were reviewed on Wednesday by the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the Bank’s newly appointed South Caucasus Regional Director Rolande Pryce, who will officially take office on September 1.
After four years of operations in Georgia, Sebastian Molineus, the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, is wrapping up his duties in the country before moving back to the United States to continue working on “an important agenda” for the institution.
Steps to be implemented within the Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation and Land Project were discussed in a meeting between the Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamuagia and Rolande Pryce, the Regional Director of the World Bank in the South Caucasus, in Tbilisi on Monday, the Ministry said.
The National Bank of Georgia on Wednesday said Georgia had taken a “leading position” in the World Bank's latest Enterprise Surveys in terms of access to finance for companies, with indicators exceeding the average results of European and Central Asian countries.