Georgia will get about $40 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program is finalized.
After the fourth review, the amount of money allocated for Georgia will amount to $210 million within the program, said the head of the IMF mission Mercedes Vera-Martin at the press conference held today together with the Finance Minister of Georgia and the President of the National Bank of Georgia.
The IMF approved the $285 million, large-scale technical assistance program EFF for Georgia in 2017 in an effort to support the country’s economic policy.
Today the IMF mission and the Georgian authorities have reached an agreement on completing the fourth review of the program.
Vera-Martin said that the IMF believes the economy of Georgia is developing “at a very strong pace”.
She said that Georgia’s economic growth forecast for 2019 is 4.6%, and inflation will slightly exceed the 3% target, “mainly due to the increase in excise taxes on tobacco”.
Vera-Martin said that economic perspectives are positive in Georgia, but there are global fluctuations, which will certainly have an impact on the country.
“This can reduce the economic growth of Georgia”, said Vera-Martin.
The Finance Minister Ivane Machavariani said that 4.6% economic growth that is projected for Georgia is “very high in the region”. Machavariani also said that economic growth projection confirms the efficiency of the reforms carried out by the Georgian government.
