Page 6 - GEORptAug21

($92mn) - it amounted to the biggest profit ever recorded by the banks in the country’s history. The banking system remains adequately capitalised
and liquid, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its Concluding Remarks after Article IV Consultations with the country.
E-commerce in Georgia increased more than threefold year-on-year in 2020 to nearly $45mn, a Galt & Taggart report states. The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted Georgia’s e-commerce market, as lockdowns encouraged many to purchase online for the first time or increase the frequency of online purchases. The lockdowns also forced Georgian companies to expand their online offerings.
On the trade front, Georgia's exports rose by nearly one-third year-on-year in June, while PPI for industrial goods rose 15%, Galt & Taggart reported. Overall, in 1H21, the trade deficit was up by 14.5% y/y to US$ 2.4bn, as exports increased by 25.2% y/y to US$ 1.9bn and imports increased by 18.9% y/y to US$ 4.3bn.
Georgia's foreign trade in the first six months of 2021 increased by over one-fifth year-on-year, Geostat reported on July 13. Furthermore, it was 0.5% above the pre-coronavirus crisis trade turnover seen in H1 2019.
The leaders of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova signed a declaration on July 20 in Georgia's Batumi committing to EU integration. This comes amid a growing rift between the EU and Georgia over recent political developments, with tensions high over the ongoing government response to extremists who violently forced the cancellation of the Tbilisi Pride event.
On the political front, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price and seven senators of the Foreign Relations Committee on July 28 levelled criticisms against the ruling Georgian Dream party in Georgia for quitting the EU-brokered April 19 agreement. Georgian Dream announced on July 28 that it would be leaving the deal.
Ned Price argued that the withdrawal “undermines an agreed upon way forward for the country through needed reforms and risks a return to political crises.” He called on all political parties to work together to “advance’ Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.
On July 14, Formula, TV Pirveli, and two other TV stations, Mtavari and Kavkasia, said they would halt broadcasting for 24 hours in a coordinated act of protest against the attacks on journalists and anti-LGBT violence in Tbilisi on July 5. The violence has also elicited international condemnation from both foreign governments and rights groups. European Council President Charles Michel underscored that fundamental rights and freedoms play a central role in EU-Georgia relations.
6 GEORGIA Country Report August 2021 www.intellinews.com