World Bank provides additional support to help Georgia mitigate economic impacts of COVID-19
By Khatia Bzhalava
Thursday, July 2
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved ˆ45 million in additional financing for the Georgia Economic Management and Competitiveness Development Policy Operation (DPO).
This additional financing from the World Bank will help the government of Georgia to cover an unanticipated financing gap that has arisen due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We stand by Georgia’s side as a strong partner during this challenging time and support the government in its swift and effective anti-crisis measures to save people’s lives and protect livelihoods, mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19, and maintain Georgia’s strong record of economic reforms..while Georgia’s containment measures were successful in containing the spread of the virus, they come with fiscal and economic costs as in many countries around this world. This additional financing will be the much-needed lifeline support,” stated Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus.
According to the World Bank, the additional financial support is linked to the ˆ 45 million Economic Management and Competitiveness Development Policy Operation (DPO) that was approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors in March of 2020. The overall objective is to facilitate those reforms that can lead to job creation, greater economic inclusion and resilience, focusing on improving the efficiency of public resource use; promoting more competitive markets; diversifying the financial sector; improving teacher deployment and remuneration; and strengthening investment promotion.
“The World Bank’s support is very important for our country as it will be directed specifically at solving the problems caused by COVID-19. I would like to thank our partners once again for their great support in reducing the economic impact caused by the pandemic in Georgia and also for helping to sustain the implementation of reforms in general,” said Ivane Matchavariani, Minister of Finance of Georgia.
This DPO, the second in the series of three lending operations, is a part of the World Bank’s broader support for the people of Georgia to help address the COVID-19 pandemic. The first operation was the $80 million financial support package provided under the Fast Track COVID-19 Facility aimed at addressing and mitigating the health and social impacts of the pandemic; the third tranche will focus on micro, small and medium enterprises and jobs affected by the pandemic.
“It has taken broad and fast actions to support our clients in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and is prepared to deploy up to $160 billion over the next 15 months to help more than 100 countries – home to 70% of the world’s population – protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery,” stated the World Bank.
