PM: Georgia Back on Investors’ Radar
Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said on January 17 that foreign investor confidence in Georgia had been fully restored.
“As I used to say, vey little was needed for that. First of all, they [investors] needed to know that radical reforms would continue and they have been reassured by the results of the [January 5 presidential] election,” PM Gurgenidze said at a cabinet meeting.
Stability, he said, is the second necessary condition. “Recent moves towards dialogue have had a positive influence on the situation,” he said.
The PM’s upbeat mood contrasted sharply with previous pronouncements. Civil unrest in November, he said many times, had damaged the investment climate, describing it as “an investment pause.” He said in December that the economy had lost at least USD 500 million.
In an interview with the Financial Times, published on January 16, the prime minister said projected GDP growth for 2008 had been revised from 11% to 6%, because of the political upheaval. He accused Tbilisi’s “chattering class” of “infantile” behavior in considering political options, such as the possible restoration of the monarchy, with no thought for the economic consequences.
“It’s okay to discuss things long-term. But if you create a climate of uncertainty, investment stops and growth stops…The chattering class in Georgia is infantile and doesn’t see the costs,” he told the Financial Times.
