Finance Minister says Georgia’s success in Open Budget Survey is int’l recognition of implemented reforms

Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Thursday said the country’s success in the International Budget Partnership’s 2023 Open Budget Survey, which ranked Georgia first among 125 countries in budget transparency, was an international recognition of reforms implemented by the Government in public finance management.

Khutsishvili noted Georgia had also made “significant progress” in budget oversight, where the country moved from 21st to the fifth place, the Finance Ministry said.

I congratulate all parties involved in the budget process for this success. This means that our country is taking the right steps in the direction of transparency and accountability. [...] The reforms will continue in this regard, and accordingly, progress will be seen in the future as well”, the Minister emphasised.

The survey was published on Wednesday by the organisation that conducts transparency assessments every two years in collaboration with the non-governmental sector, focusing on budget transparency, public participation and budget oversight.

The OBS was first published in 2006, with Georgia listed 30th with 34 points and among the least transparent countries.