Parliament approves new member of National Bank Board
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, March 4
The Parliament of Georgia approved the candidacy of Koba Gvenetadze as a member of the Board of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) on March 2.
Gventadze’s candidacy, nominated by the President of Georgia, was supported by 81 MPs. He will replace Giorgi Kadagidze on the Board of the National Bank, who also held the position of the NBG president until February 25, 2016, when his term expired.
It will be up to the seven-member board to choose a new president of the central bank among its members, which will then require approval from President Giorgi Margvelashvili.
According to the head of the Presidential Administration, Giorgi Abashvishvili, Gvenetadze is an experienced professional and by approving his candidacy, the parliament expressed trust towards the NBG and voted for its independence.
“Parliament approved and supported the independence of the National Bank and the monetary stability of the country; successful functioning of the NBG depends on the Board members like Koba Gvenetadze,” stated Abashvishvili.
Gvenetadze himself thanked the MPs for supporting him.
“I want to thank the parliament for their support. I hope that my experience and knowledge will help to increase the effectiveness of the Board and will increase the independence of the National Bank itself,” said Gvenetadze and added that it is up to the Board to choose a new NBG President.
President Margvelashvili nominated Gvenetadze’s candidacy from the three candidates who were selected and assessed by the experts and the non-governmental organizations.
Before the final approval, Gvenetadze’s candidacy was discussed at the Sector Economy and Budget and Finance Committees.
According to the President’s Administration, Koba Gvenetadze, who has earned his Master of Arts in Economics at the American University, Washington, has been working at Galt and Taggart Company as an economic advisor from the November 2015.
