Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava reported to the parliament within the ministerial hour format.

Natia Turnava stressed the re-opening of the Georgian economy in 2021, tagging it “a breakthrough” in comparison to 2020 when the economy stopped amid the Covid pandemic. The Minister said the government chose to reject lockdowns and accentuate vaccination.

“We opened national economy, created a favourable environment for the national currency exchange rate stability, returned predictability to business that makes good precondition for further peaceful development,” Turnava said.

High inflation stands a challenge, the Minister reported. Turnava pointed at a global rise in prices on various goods amid the pandemic, which deepened poverty in Georgia.

“As a result of the coordinated and targeted policy of the government and the National Bank (NBG), the NBG and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that the inflation rate will return to the pre-pandemic index of three per cent by the end of the next year,” Turnava claimed.

Natia Turnava added that Georgia must head for the industrial development that would help reduce Georgia’s dependency on export, especially for food products.