Daily News

IN THIS ISSUE:

National Bank of Georgia (NBG) reported that its Monetary Policy Committee decided today to maintain the refunding rate intact. Respectively, the rate still makes up 7%.

Chairman of Georgian Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze declared that after inauguration of the 5^th president of Georgia (on December 16), when the new edition of Constitution will enter in force, the moratorium in connection with farmlands will be restored in absolute form (the matter concerns prohibition on farmland ownership for foreigners). “Proceeding from this, there will be no problems in this direction”, he said.

Expenditure of the state budget for 2019 exceeds 13 billion lari for the first time, Georgia’s Finance Minister Ivane Machavariani declared, presenting draft of the state budget-2019 at the Parliament session today.

In the revised draft, expenditure of the state budget is additionally increased by 92.4 million lari, including growth in respect of infrastructure by 40 million lari, the Minister noted.

“The major challenge today are two major factors, determining competitiveness of Georgia, such as labor qualification and logistic advantage”, Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Giorgi Kobulia declared.

“If we do not improve skills of labor force, we will find difficult to accelerate growth of investments and business activity”, the Minister noted.

Today, representatives of the EU and European Investment Bank (EIB) signed the new project, envisaging assistance to development of new and safe roads in Georgia, the EU representation in Georgia reported. Implementation of the project will begin in January 2019.

Georgian National Communication Commission considers possibility of implementation of the EU Directive 2014/53/EU, which concerns use of radio equipment.

The Commission said that in line with commitments, undertaken under Agreement on Association with the EU, draft of technical regulations was developed together with Lithuanian experts.

On International Mountain Day (December 11), the project “Green Economy: Sustainable Mountain Tourism and Organic Agriculture” (GRETA) was signed, the EU representation in Georgia reported.

As the representation noted, the 4-year project worth 6.8 million EUR, which implementation will begin in 2019, will assist to development of Georgia’s regions Zemo Svaneti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti and Imereti.

In 2018, we expect export of agrofood production from Georgia of almost $1 billion, Georgia’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Levan Davitashvili declared.

As the Minister noted, the country’s negative balance of trade with agrofood production amounted to about $900 million.

Georgia’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Levan Davitashvili declared that in next years, Japan and South Korea will be added to Georgian wine’s export geography. An interesting segment is also the US, he pointed.

Georgia’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Levan Davitashvili declared that marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys, the pest) is “one of major challenges in agriculture, but still the short-term one”. “Leading entomologists of the world say to us that Georgia will be able to solve a problem of marmorated stink bug in 2-3 years”, he noted.