Georgia's Business Association's expectations from new PM
By Tea Mariamidze
Wednesday, September 11
The association said they already have some experience in working with Gakharia, who served as the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia from November 2016 to November 2017 and was also the Deputy PM in 2018-2019.
“We congratulate the PM and the Ministers on their respective positions. It is very good that the economic block is unchanged, as The BAG already has good experience of effective cooperation with the existing economic block. The Association is the bridge between business and the state and as always we will raise the objective and fair issues that are relevant at this stage and require solutions,’’ the statement reads.
The BAG says that it is important to improve the decision-making process across state agencies throughout Georgia, which involves the timely resolution of issues important to businesses.
“Foresight is important to create a predictable business environment…Any legislative or another type of business initiative needs to be discussed in advance with the business. Our many years of experience shows that as a result of communication with business, the state gets important, professional and real information and always makes the right decisions,” the organization stated.
According to the Business Association, it is important to protect the business from excessive social obligations, which means that businesses must thrive, create additional jobs in the country and therefore a strong economy, with the natural consequence –more employment in the private sector.
“With a strong economy, we will have significantly increased budget revenues to finance various social projects or other expenditures,” they added.
The BAG says the most painful problem nowadays is the devaluation of the national currency GEL against the US Dollar and Euro.
“Our mission is to create an effective and professional platform for institutional cooperation between the Business Association of Georgia and the Government of Georgia to promote business development,” they noted.
A few days ago, Gakharia said that Georgia has a small and open economy and the Lari exchange rate is an integral part of the daily life, which is directly related not only to the Georgian economy but also to its main trading partners as well.
“However, this does not mean that the GEL rate should fluctuate that way. It should also be remembered that the depreciation of the Lari has several very important effects on our population and our economy. With maximum coordination and work with the National Bank, we will do our best to maintain both economic and financial stability,” he added.