PM Gakharia meets new EBRD president

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Wednesday, February 3

The EBRD president reaffirmed the bank's commitment to continue to support Georgia in overcoming the challenges posed by the coronavirus, and to promote a strong, sustainable and inclusive recovery.

“As we prepare our next five-year strategy, which will focus on Georgia's needs and priorities, we will focus on promoting 'green economy', social equity, and digitalization of services,” the EBRD President said.

The Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia met with the new President of the EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso. As Gakharia said during the meeting, the EBRD is one of Georgia's key development partners, and in the post-pandemic economic recovery phase, even greater importance is attached to strengthening the successful, exemplary cooperation that has made Georgia one of the biggest beneficiaries of the EBRD in recent years. He stressed the importance of the virtual visit of the President, especially considering the challenges and opportunities related to the Covid-Pandemic.

The Head of Government wished the new President of the EBRD successful work, especially in the face of global challenges, and underlined the EBRD support for the development of the country's economy, infrastructure, and private sector, under which more than 250 projects worth more than ˆ 4 billion were implemented.

According to Giorgi Gakharia, the role of the EBRD in supporting the private sector is particularly welcome, and the fact that, despite the pandemic, the EBRD doubled its support to the business and financial sectors in 2020, as a strong private sector is a major driver of economic growth and sustainable development.

The most important areas that were covered were energy, transport, physical infrastructure, structural reforms. “I would like to thank our guests once again and express my hope that the strategic program of cooperation with the new Georgia in the next 5 years, which the EBRD has already started working on, will be as successful as the current program,” said Gakharia.

The importance of the Investor Council platform for communication between the government and the private sector was also highlighted, which helps to better identify the challenges facing the private sector and identify structural reforms that are particularly important for the business and investment environment, given the post-pandemic economic needs.

The President of the EBRD especially emphasized the efforts of the Government of Georgia and evaluated the steps taken to manage the crisis caused by the coronavirus. “I am impressed with the purposefulness of the country's government in overcoming the crisis. I would like to publicly state that the European Bank has a well-intentioned commitment to promoting the future development of the country,” the president stated.

According to the president, the cooperation is based on a very strong foundation, as the total amount of investment reached a record high in 2020 - with a total budget of 630 million euros for 16 projects in various sectors of the economy through partnerships with existing and new clients. The Bank's initiatives include the full range from energy to healthcare, as well as assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises, which are an important segment of the real economy.

Eurobank prioritizes the further development of the country's private sector, economic recovery, ensuring greater inclusiveness in the economy, strengthening human capital, development of infrastructure and transport, especially in the field of digitalization.