PM Gakharia assesses Mike Pompeo’s visit and discusses new reforms at Govt Administration Session
By Liza Norwich-Gerwik
Friday, November 20
Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia assessed the visit of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Government Administration session.
According to Gakharia, both sides have agreed that the strategic partnership based on common values between Georgia and the US should be further deepened.
The Prime Minister noted that Mike Pompeo on behalf of the American people and government, reaffirmed to the people of Georgia their unwavering support for the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, Euro-Atlantic development, and the further deepening of trade and economic relations.
"As you know, the visit of our strategic partner, the US Secretary of State, to Georgia ended yesterday. The main topics we discussed were, first of all, the further deepening of the strategic partnership between our countries, the issue of regional security and the importance of US-Georgia cooperation in these regional processes, and, of course, Georgia's role in the ongoing processes in the region. The most important thing is that the Secretary of State, on behalf of the American people and government, reaffirmed his unwavering support for the people of Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, our Euro-Atlantic development, and most importantly, the further deepening of trade and economic relations. Of course, the importance of sustainable development for Georgia, strengthening of democratization processes as well as institutions was underlined.
This was an extremely important visit, during which the importance of Georgia as a strategic partner, the importance of Georgia's further development, and the Euro-Atlantic course was once again demonstrated. “All this once again confirms the successful policy of the country in terms of European and Euro-Atlantic development pursued by the government,” stated Gakharia.
Mike Pompeo arrived in Tbilisi on the evening of November 17 and the official meetings started the next day. The US Secretary of State met with President Salome Zurabishvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, and Patriarch Ilia II, but did not comment to the media and only made statements to the US Embassy.
Gakharia has also discussed new reforms to support economic growth during the crisis. According to the PM, based on the new reform, about 150 thousand companies will be able to automatically return VAT.
"This means that every year, about a billion Laris, without any problem, will be immediately returned to our business. This is a reform that has not been implemented in the country for decades, and which should support the development of medium businesses to keep jobs," Gakharia said.
He said the reform is of particularly high importance in the current economic crisis and is crucial in terms of the potential for rapid economic recovery.
The PM also discussed the importance of the second round of the 2020 Parliamentary elections to be held, saying “The second round of parliamentary elections will help return the ongoing processes in the country to the formal legal framework.”
