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5.3​ FTAs
Georgia seeks free trade agreement with GCC
Georgia wants a free trade agreement with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (aka the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC) Natia Turnava, Georgia’s minister of economy, said after meeting Abdullah Al-Mutair, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Georgia.
According to Turnava, trade and economic cooperation between the two countries were discussed at the meeting.
"The meeting highlighted the fact that Georgia is interested in concluding a free trade agreement with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. It was noted that despite the growing trade between Georgia and the member states of the Arab countries in recent years, existing potential has not been fully used and there are more opportunities for the development of bilateral trade," the Georgian economy ministry said in a statement.
The GCC includes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
6.0​ Public Sector 6.1​ Budget
EU extends €100mn to Georgia under two MFAs
The European Union has transferred €100mn to support Georgia's balance of payments and help meet its budgetary financial needs under macro-financial assistance (MFA) operations.
One operation aims to restore Georgia’s stable external financial position and is co-financed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Since 2008, the EU has conducted four MFA operations in Georgia.
The components of this assistance include €75mn from a new MFA operation announced in April aimed at mitigating the socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and €25mn as the last tranche from a previous MFA operation approved in April 2018.
Of the €100mn disbursed, €95mn is in the form of soft loans and the remaining €5mn is a grant.
The €75bn tranche will form parts of an MFA dealing with the pandemic and a reform agreement with the Georgian government.
Reforms are to be implemented in the areas of public finance management, governance (especially to improve the independence, accountability and quality of the judiciary), the energy sector and labour market policies. If the government implements these agreed reforms, an additional €75mn will be disbursed as MFA in early 2021.
The second tranche of the MFA operation approved in April 2018 (€25mn ) consists of loans (€20mn) and grants (€5mn). The implementation of the specific agreed policy conditions for this second tranche make it possible to carry out reforms in the areas of public financial management, the financial sector, social and labour market policy and the business environment.
"The European Union continues to support Georgia in its fight against the
28​ GEORGIA Country Report ​December 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com