Agriculture Minister against total ban on land sale

Georgia’s Minister of Agriculture Levan Davitashvili has stated he is against the total ban on selling agricultural lands to foreign citizens.

He made the comment amidst the demands of some non-parliamentary opposition parties who proposed that the state constitution ban the sale of Georgian land to foreigners.

Davitashvili says the Government has prepared a draft of changes that sets restrictions for such deals; however, the bill does not envisage imposing a complete ban.

“Lands will be sold to foreigners only in exceptional cases, mostly when it comes to big investments,” Davitashvili stated.

The draft 'scontent has been confirmed by the head of Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, ex-Agriculture Minister Otar Danelia, but he did not name the amount of investment sthat will enable a foreigner to buy Georgian land.

The Messenger has already touched upon the issue, as the topic is sensitive both for Georgians and those foreigners who wish to invest in the country.

Each developed country refrains from selling its own land to other countries’ people, and the issue is generally under very strict regulations.

The fact that the Government has already provided a draft over the issue means it is unlikely the Constitution will reflect the topic.

Consequently, there will be no total ban on selling land to foreigners.

It will be welcome if before the approval of the draft, the public had access to detailed information about the issue, as when it comes to topics like this the Government sometimes refrains from revealing details, as people may not like them.