Georgian PM: economic growth has reached “highest” rate in Europe, wider region with goal is to maintain trend

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said the country’s average economic growth has reached a 9.7 percent in January-July, making it the “highest rate” in Europe and the wider region.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Kobakhidze said the Government’s “primary goal” was to continue sustaining the trajectory of economic growth.

To achieve this, we must maintain a liberal economic environment, which is currently well-established. Additionally, we strive to introduce new initiatives to the public as part of our programme. Attracting investments in various sectors such as energy, information technology, infrastructure development, and connectivity will be the focus of our specific program proposals for the public”, the Prime Minister said.

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Stressing that economic development remained a “top priority”, he said improvement of the standard of living of the population, development of “various fields” and strengthening of the country’s “foreign political positions” “depend on the economy".

Reflecting on past economic challenges, Kobakhidze acknowledged the impact of crises and external factors on the domestic economy, noting a turnaround from 2021 onwards.

After 2012, we experienced two crises. In 2016, following the war in Ukraine, economic processes in the region became challenging, directly impacting our economy, leading to a depreciation of the lari [national currency] exchange rate. Instead of reducing poverty, we observed negative trends during this period, especially in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Additionally, the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 caused our country's economy to shrink by six percent. [But] [s]tarting from 2021, we have experienced a very high rate of economic development”, he said.

The Prime Minister expressed optimism about the country's future economic prospects, citing a forecast by the International Monetary Fund predicting a “rapid” growth. He indicated if the current pace of growth continued, Georgia was poised to transition to the ranks of “high-income countries by 2028 or 2029”.

He also said he was confident of “reaching new heights in the medium term” with a focus on “concrete initiatives” and a “favourable economic and political framework”.