Lasha Khutsishvili, the candidate for the post of the Finance Minister of Georgia, on Tuesday told Parliamentary committees the Government would focus on “fostering rapid economic growth” and strengthening economic ties with the European Union.
The official highlighted the objective of preparing the country for EU membership – following the granting of the membership status to it last year – as a “key priority” in the medium term, while also pledging the Government’s commitment to reducing poverty and positioning Georgia as a regional hub for logistics and investment.
In comments on recent macroeconomic trends, Khutsishvili noted Georgia’s “strong” economic performance, particularly in the post-pandemic period, had been marked by “substantial growth” between 2021-2022 and last year’s “successful” seven percent growth rate.
He emphasised Georgia had managed to “fully eliminate” the pandemic-induced economic lag and return to a pre-Covid-19 growth trajectory while major economies still suffered its negative effects.
Khutsishvili also highlighted key economic indicators, such as the average annual inflation of 2.5 percent in 2023 and a gross domestic product per capita exceeding $8,000 by the year’s end. He expressed confidence Georgia would sustain “high economic growth” and maintain inflation within target rates in the coming years.
Regarding the country’s path toward EU integration, Khutsishvili pointed out “significant progress” made across “various sectors”, particularly in economic and fiscal domains.
He referenced projections by the International Monetary Fund on Georgia’s per capita income, adjusted for purchasing power, reaching up to 45 percent of the EU median indicator by 2024 and surpassing the levels of some EU member states at the time of their accession to the bloc.
Khutsishvili also praised Georgia’s “favourable” macroeconomic and fiscal parameters compared to both EU member and candidate countries, citing high economic growth, low inflation, minimal government debt and budget deficit, and efficient post-pandemic recovery.
He also highlighted the country’s “exemplary performance” in public finance management, which he said was “consistently ranking highly” in international indexes.
