Christine Lagarde met with the students of leading universities in Georgia

During her first visit to Georgia, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund met with the Georgian students.

The meeting was opened by Koba Gvenetadze, who introduced the Managing Director of IMF to the students, saying “this is Managing Director Lagarde's first visit to Georgia and on behalf of the Georgian authorities I want to express our sincere gratitude to her for finding time in her very busy schedule to visit our country. This is one more sign that the IMF pays equal attention to both systemic economies and small countries, like Georgia."

During the meeting, Lagarde discussed 'Inclusive Growth' with the students. She positively assessed the implemented reforms in the financial sector and answered the questions from the students. “Georgia is successful in terms of tolerance, openness and learning from its past,” noted the Managing Director of IMF.

“From the day of Georgia’s independence, the country has undergone a period of great challenges. The standard of living has decreased, the production has disappeared, and it was very painful for the Georgian economy,” stressed Lagarde during her speech.

As she said, the last few generations of Georgians are living in an environment where the country is in a significant transformation. “The economy is changing. Tourism has become a huge part of Georgia’s economy, which is a very good thing because you have a lot of tourist attractions, trade is growing, creating the most favorable business environment in the country,” noted the Managing Director of IMF.

During the meeting, apart from discussing the Georgian economy and its potential, Lagarde also gave Georgian students personal advice for success, “if you want to be seen, stand on the feet, if you want to be heard, speak out loudly and if you want to be appreciated, talk briefly.”

Christine Lagarde became the eleventh Managing Director of the IMF in 2011. She is the first woman to hold the aforementioned position. She was elected to a second term in 2016.

Georgia became a member country of the International Monetary Fund in 1992. The IMF is an organization consisting of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.