IMF Executive Board Approves US$280 million Stand-By Arrangement for Georgia
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, June 17, 2022
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a three-year $280 million Stand By Arrangement for Georgia which provides support for the authorities’ economic policies over the next 3 years. The authorities’ IMF-supported program seeks to further entrench macroeconomic stability, build resilience, and strengthen medium-term growth as the country emerges from the COVID 19 pandemic and contends with spillovers from the war in Ukraine.
The program focuses on rebuilding fiscal buffers, strengthening fiscal frameworks, reducing external vulnerabilities and inflation, maintaining financial sector resilience, and fostering stronger and more inclusive growth.
The Board’s decision makes about $40 million immediately available. The Georgian authorities intend to treat the new arrangement as precautionary.
The President of the National Bank of Georgia, Koba Gvenetadze responded that the continuation of sound macroeconomic policies and reforms is the best shield against the most difficult shocks for the Georgian economy.
According to Irakli Kovzanadze, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget, ‘this is the result of the joint work of the Government of Georgia, the Parliament and the National Bank’.