Economic team of gov’t, National Bank, and others meet to discuss consequences of Coronavirus
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, May 4
In the framework of a dialogue forum and under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the economic team of the government, the Central Bank and strategic and analysis organisations, addressed the economic implications of the outbreak and the coronavirus and also talked about the government's post-crisis policies and Strategies.
The video conference was chaired by the Prime Minister's economic adviser Beka Liluashvili. The conference was also attended by Deputy Minister of Finance Nikoloz Gagua and Vice President of the National Bank Papuna Lezhava.
The forum was formed on direction of the Prime Minister. The Government's economic team, along with the Central Bank, NGOs, and consultancies reviewed core issues relevant to the Anti-Crisis Strategy, and the Post-Crisis Programme, which will ensure that the country's economy improves rapidly and returns to successful patterns shortly.
The following issues were covered: further activities of the post-crisis tourism support plan; promoting the construction and infrastructure industry and major firms; implementing strategy to encourage foreign direct investment and improving private sector corporate governance as a post-crisis resource.
The initiatives adopted by the government in the context of the anti-crisis program were favorably assessed by the analytical and academic organisations involved in the conference. The Economic Policy and post-crisis views have been shared and the groups will soon send their suggestions to the government.
Furthermore, GEL liquidity requirement was at the root of the matter presented by the NGOs and discussed by the National Bank. Some new tools should be generated according to the National Bank that will help to lower existing interest rates on the economy.
The government's policy committee will consult periodically with the National Bank, academic and research organisations. The USAID Economic Governance initiative, which funds the Georgian Government's advisory mechanism and research institutions, acknowledges the effect of the outbreak on the economy.
As the coronavirus further spread around the world, huge parts of the economy were hit hard. As of today, most of the businesses in Georgia either fully stopped working or are working remotely, which poses serious threats to the economy of the country, with many having lost income.
Because of many different regulations to stop the spread of the virus, many fields of economy had to face a lot of challenges. The first one to face the problems was the tourism sector, as a result of which, many lost their jobs.
The first case of the coronavirus was reported in Georgia two months ago, and since then, more than 590 cases were reported in Georgia, among them, 9 are dead and 221 have recovered.
