2019-05-20
Mamuka Bakhtadze, Prime Minister of Georgia:
It is my honor to host the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a great friend of Georgia in Tbilisi. For a very long time we have had a very high level of cooperation with the IMF, however I wish to note that it was under the leadership of Mme Lagarde that our relationship became particularly fruitful and I want to thank her for this collaboration. I was a Minister of Finance when we generated a constructive and results-oriented relationship and this visit today is a clear evidence that IMF is supporting the reforms that we are implementing with a joint effort. When we talk about inclusive economic growth, the type of economic growth that related to each and every citizen of the country, when we talk about the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), innovations, human capital development, engagement of more women in the entrepreneurship and any area of public life - it is exactly the agenda that Mme Lagarde is introducing worldwide and I wish to express my most sincere gratitude for this.
We have a very successful program with the IMF through an Extended Financing Facility (EFF). It is one of the best programs and entirely based on the reform agenda of our government. Aims and goals of the three-year-long program have already been met a year earlier than due. It included the reduction of current expenditures, acceleration of capital expenses and curtaining of deficit.
I remember very vividly our first meeting several years ago at the IMF HQ, when we had very heavy numbers of the current account deficit. It was approaching 13%. I said it then and pledged to carry out reforms that would enable Georgia to substitute imports, increase exports and reduce the current account deficit, which was one of the most painful issues for the Georgian economy. We made it happen. We reduced it almost twice and support of the IMF was very important towards this end as well. After the completion of this program we plan to cooperate more actively on even more ambitious programs and we are highly motivated to do this.
At the same time we appreciate the support of the IMF towards the most important reform, which will be implemented in the pension system. It is truly a reform of historic significance, which will help us overcome a lot of problems and challenges, which are faced by Georgia today and those that will be encountered in future.
Lastly, I wish to particularly thank Mme Lagarde and the IMF for their engagement in a very important reform, which we labeled as our national idea. It is education, human capital and the wealth that Georgia has. It is the most important reform. We expect tangible results towards this end to turn Georgia into one of the most competitive countries in the 21st century. I wish to once again thank Mme Lagarde for her visit to Georgia. I thank the IMF team for such productive cooperation and I remain confident that our new program will be equally successful as the one implemented today.
Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
Good afternoon and thank you very much for coming. Mr Prime Minister Bakhtadze, I just want to assure you that whether it is as a Finance Minister or as a Prime Minister, in your various incarnations, it is always a great pleasure to work with you representing the interests of Georgia - your beautiful country and Georgian people - men and women alike. I know that it is an important point for you as well. Together with the team who is assembled here actually, we have a pleasure of meeting you Prime Minister and all the members of your team: Minister of Economy, Minister of Finance, advisers and of course indeed the Central Bank Governor.
For me this visit is multifold. I am delighted to be here for the first time. As I have heard so much about Georgia, its beauty, its people, its resources and I have drunk a little bit too much of Georgian wine, but that is okay. I can at least appreciate the quality and creativity that can be demonstrated in all fields, including the most refined agriculture. Being a French, you would be surprised if I did not praise the culture of wine. So, my third reason for coming had to do clearly with the Program that was designed by Georgian authorities for Georgia for the Georgian people. We have been honored to operate as partners to the authorities in order to help them to actually develop the objectives that they set for themselves and delivered the performance that they have delivered. Because, it is not that many countries that can actually deliver the type of performance that Georgia has delivered. You had made commitment to reduce deficits and you certainly together with the team and their support you delivered on that front.
Many reforms were implemented, many improvements took place. The measurements, the standards have been recognized by many other institutions, but it is clearly when we partner together on a day to day basis on the structural reforms, on the benchmarks, on the prior actions, review after review together and holding hands that we actually see real success in terms of macro stability. It might sound like an arcane terminology, but macro stability is actually what is going to incentivize the investors to come, to feel confident that the country is stable. And it is those investors that will identify the sectors that will be conducive to growth that will be conducive to jobs and that will actually deliver on what people expect. So, it is a great job that you have accomplished, but it is not over. And as we know, whether it is on stability, whether it is on the fight against corruption, whether it is on the educational content that is delivered, whether it is on inclusive growth, there is no finishing line. It is a constant battle and it is a constant endeavor to actually deliver on the benefit for the people, in order to have a stability in society and progress for the wellbeing of them. So, we remain committed to you. We have just concluded the 3rd review on the May 13. There is still more work to be done for the country to graduate from the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). I have no doubt in my mind that that will be the case. And we continue to be available in order to help you, the authorities of the country, continue to deliver on the reform path that you have embarked upon. I certainly for myself applaud the commitment that you have made for the education. It is an important one. We are riveted to the actual results to the quality of education that is delivered from pre-kindergarten all the way up. We believe in quality more than anything else. And we hope that on that front, as well as on the improvement for the investors and for development, but the development of the judicial system that holds strong and independent will be a clear landmark of the path of reform that you have adopted. With that I thank you again very much, Mr. Prime Minister and together with the team we would like to wish you all the very best in continuing.