Georgian PM: nearly 700,000 citizens have overcome poverty under current Gov’t

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday claimed more than 700,000 citizens of the country had overcome poverty under his Government.

Kobakhidze told a weekly Government meeting over one million citizens lived below the poverty line in 2012, when the ruling Georgian Dream party came into power.

With a high rate of economic growth this year, under these conditions, tens of thousands of our citizens will overcome poverty this year. Our main task is to alleviate poverty, and we are glad we are making consistent progress in this direction”, he said.

Kobakhidze noted the share of the population living below the poverty line was 11.8 percent last year - 3.8 percentage points less than in 2022.

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The Prime Minister also noted the gross domestic growth rate in April, published by the National Statistics office of Georgia, which showed the economy grew by 11.8 percent year-on-year. Kobakhidze said this was a “very high indicator” of growth.

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He noted the average January-April economic growth was nine percent - “significantly higher” than the initial forecast of 4.8 percent of the International Monetary Fund.

We are confident we will maintain high economic growth until the end of the year, in the coming months of 2024. Economic growth means jobs, reduction of unemployment, poverty and progress in the country in all directions. Therefore, everything should be done to further help rapid economic growth in our country with new initiatives and give new impulses to this growth”, Kobakhidze said.

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Speaking about measures to enhance domestic growth, the PM referenced the Anaklia port project in the country’s north-west, saying a “successful” implementation would “significantly contribute” to the process.