Gov't creating anti-crisis economic group to better mitigate coronavirus impact on economy
The economic group of the Interagency Council has been working on an anti-crisis plan from the very beginning of the crisis. Photo: Gov't of Georgia.
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The government of Georgia has created an anti-crisis economic group as part of the Interagency Council to better manage the coronavirus’ impact on the Georgian economy, announces the Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia.
We are now in a time of crisis management ... The task is simple – to do everything possible to return economic life to its usual rhythm as quickly as possible. We will not be able to restore the starting conditions that we had at the beginning of 2020 in one or two months, but we have to recover it in about two years", said Gakharia.
The prime minister's advisor for economics Beka Liluashvili said that the economic group of the Interagency Council has been working on an anti-crisis plan from the very beginning of the crisis, and that the plan is based on three principles:
- To easy the daily financial challenges of Georgian citizens
- To help businesses keep jobs
- To develop tools so once the country emerges from economic crisis to be able fast recovery of the economy
PM Gakharia thanked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which is offering $450 million to help Georgia contain the COVID-19 pandemic "of this, $200 million will appear in the country's budget in the coming days, by the end of April", Gakharia said.
Gakharia also thanked donor organisations, the European Union, Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, German Development Fund, French Development Agency, that are ready to support the Georgian economy with $3 billion by the end of 2020.
Half of this money, $1.5 billion is budgetary assistance and another $1.5 billion is for the private sector of Georgia.
Gakharia said that at the same time it is necessary to discuss targeted assistance for citizens, businesses and the economy in the post-crisis period.
The United States Government is providing $1.1 million assistance to Georgia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will help prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication and more
The World Bank is offering €45 million to support Georgia implement ongoing reforms in areas critical for inclusive economic growth and also assist in the country’s efforts to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is offering $450 million to help Georgia contain the COVID-19 pandemic and limit its economic impact, announces the IMF. The IMF reached an agreement with the Georgian authorities for the completion of the Sixth Review and an augmentation of access under the Extended Fund Facility.
Two more people have recuperated from coronavirus in Georgia increasing the total number of recoveries to 71. The country has confirmed a total of 306 cases of COVID-19 since February 26, including 230 active cases of the virus and three deaths.
The European Union, Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, German Development Fund, French Development Agency will support the Georgian economy with $1.5 billion by the end of 2020, announced Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia today.
The Investors Council will support the government of Georgia in developing a new investment strategy for the country and will engage in designing steps to attract new foreign investments to the country, announces the government of Georgia.
Georgia has five new cases of COVID-19 and 14 recoveries including two in the Black Sea region of Adjara, turning the region into a coronavirus-free zone again. Head of the Adjara region government Tornike Rizhvadze announced earlier today that no new cases of the virus have been reported in the region since April 30.
Over half of the enterprises that make up Georgia’s packaging value chain lost more than 50 per cent of their income to lockdown and 83 per cent consider the pandemic a significant threat to their continued operation, says a new study of the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) based on interviews with over 500 companies.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has met media representatives earlier today to discuss economic development since the COVID-19 pandemic and the steps made by the government to support the economy.