Georgian Finance Minister urges “stronger regional synergy” as ADB annual meeting closes in Tbilisi

Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Finance Minister, called for a “stronger regional synergy” in his address to the closing event of the 57th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in the country’s capital city of Tbilisi on Sunday.

Khutsishvili led the Business Session of the Board of Governors of the ADB for the final day of the meeting, and urged “innovative solutions to address existing challenges”, including lending in local currencies and private sector involvement. 

The theme of the 57th annual meeting is 'Bridge to the Future' - we chose this name for several reasons. These are Georgia’s role and geographical location between Europe and Asia, the momentum the world is seeing from the exit from the pandemic, dealing with the global crisis related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, other conflicts, as well as adapting to climate change, finding ways to mitigate its effects and other challenges”, he told the event.

We all need strong regional synergy and the support of development-oriented partners to build a bridge to the future. Their promotion is crucial for the use of diversified and innovative instruments that will remove existing constraints. Due to the nature of the existing challenges, immediate response and non-standard solutions are required”, the official said.

The Minister also highlighted the Georgian Government’s progress towards achieving its strategic goals  - including European Union membership candidacy, infrastructure development, connectivity and human capital.

Economies of many countries around the world have managed to recover. Among them is Georgia, which has showed resilience. Between 2021-2022, during the period of post-pandemic negative impact and Russia-Ukraine war, in the conditions of strong fiscal consolidation, the economy of Georgia recorded a double-digit growth rate and maintained this dynamic for two consecutive years, thus returning the country to its pre-pandemic state”, the Minister said. 

Above-average economic growth was maintained in 2023 and 2024. According to preliminary data, the growth of 2023 is 7.5 percent, and the result of the first quarter of 2024 indicates a growth of 7.8 percent”, he added.

Khutsishvili stressed the importance of maintaining “macroeconomic stability” and “long-term sustainability” of structural reforms. 

He also discussed the Government’s “successful” collaboration with the ADB, which finances both public and private sectors with a portfolio of about $4.5 billion, and expressed hope for continued cooperation in “priority areas” such as energy security and renewable energy.

All this will be made possible by increasing the production of green and renewable energy, enhanced connectivity through transmission lines - including the Black Sea submarine cable project - terrestrial and digital connectivity-capable infrastructure, corporate governance reforms in enterprises and investment in human capital. These and many other directions are the main priorities of our agenda”, the Minister said.

Khutsishvili also formally handed over the hosting rights of next year’s 58th annual meeting to Italy to conclude the Business Session of the Board of Governors.

The annual meeting in Tbilisi hosted nearly 70 events - covering a diverse range of topics including connectivity, climate change, capital market development, artificial intelligence, and green globalisation - and 3,000 delegates between Thursday and Sunday.