Georgia preparing for EU integration, maintaining strategic cooperation in region - Finance Minister

Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishhvili on Saturday said Georgia was preparing its economy and systems for integration into the European Union, simultaneously maintaining strategic cooperation in the region.

In his remarks on the ADB Insight discussion, which included Masatsugu Asakawa, the President of the Asian Development Bank and Odile Renaud-Basso, the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Khutsishvili pointed out the “several economic shocks” that Georgia had experienced during the last decade, including covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He noted the country’s economy showed “a strong resilience” amid the challenges and highlighted structural reforms and implemented initiatives, including in the sectors of tourism, foreign direct investment, and the inflow of financial and human capital, that “created a fairly good basis for the economic recovery”.

As a result of these factors, in 2021 and 2022, Georgia had double-digit economic growth [...]. This growth momentum continued into 2023 as we had a 7.5 percent rate, which is much higher than the average. This trend will continue this year as well”, the Minister said.

Khutsishvili pointed out the role of “strong fiscal consolidation measures”, implemented in Georgia for stabilising the country’s economy, citing the decrease in the budget deficit and external debt, as well as the stabilisation of inflation.

At the discussion, while reviewing the existing cooperation with the partners, including EBRD and ADB, the Minister also highlighted Georgia’s opportunity to benefit from the synergy of various international financial institutions and the jointly implemented projects.

Financial cooperation and partnership with the mentioned international organisations are important not only in terms of financial support but also in the direction of sharing expert knowledge, which is carried out by the development-oriented partners during complex infrastructure projects or institutional reforms”, he added.

Several important projects jointly financed by EBRD and ADB, including the construction of the Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel, were also emphasised by the Minister, who noted that the strengthening of the transit potential in Georgia was “one of the pillars” of the country’s economic policy.

High-speed highways, where we are investing billions of dollars with the help of international financial institutions, as well as railways, new ports and all infrastructure projects, serve to increase the transit potential in the country. All this is part of the multiple initiatives that involve regional cooperation, including the Middle Corridor, the Silk Road and other initiatives, the main goal of which is to increase regional cooperation”, Khutsishvili said.

He emphasised Georgia would continue to invest in these types of projects and highlighted “one of the main and important projects” -  the implementation of the Black Sea submarine electricity cable project - intended to connect the grid of the region to those of EU countries.