Prime Minister Presents Government’s Annual Report 

On December 18, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili presented the government’s annual report. He began his two-hour speech by welcoming the European Council’s decision to grant Georgia candidate status. He emphasized the current government’s efforts to avoid war and claimed that Georgia had not violated any international sanctions. Garibashvili’s speech was largely focused on demonstrating the contrast in a number of economic and defense parameters between Georgia to 2012, when the incumbent Georgian Dream government came to power, and today. Garibashvili repeatedly praised the ruling authorities and Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, and in turn detracted the former government.

On granting Georgia the EU candidacy

Commenting on the European Council’s decision to grant Georgia the status of EU candidate country, Prime Minister Garibashvili said that the government and the people together deserved this status: “Our team, our government, together with the people have achieved a great victory,” Garibashvili said, adding that it was a dream of many generations that had come true. Garibashvili said that the granting of EU candidate status was the result of the government’s policy of acting in accordance with national interests.

Garibashvili said that Georgia’s path to Europe began in 2012, when “Bidzina Ivanishvili and the Georgian Dream took over the reins of government”. He listed a number of Georgia’s achievements in recent years, including the signing of the Association Agreement, the establishment of a visa-free regime between Georgia and the EU, the adoption of a constitutional amendment obliging all state constitutional bodies to take all necessary measures to ensure Georgia’s full integration into the EU and NATO, the granting of the European perspective in 2022 and, finally, the granting of EU candidacy in 2023.

On the war in Ukraine

Speaking of the government’s achievements, Garibashvili went on to discuss the challenges in the region, starting with the war in Ukraine. He said: “Nobody knows how the war [in Ukraine] will end and what impact it will have on the global and European security architecture,” Garibashvili said, adding that “we went through all this in 2008, during the August war… which unfortunately the irresponsible government of the time could not avoid”. He added: “If Bidzina Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream had been in power in 2008, this war would not have happened.”

Calling war “the gravest danger that can befall the country”, he affirmed that the current government had successfully avoided it and “peacefully, wisely and firmly led the country to peace”. Garibashvili, in turn, accused some “radical groups and hostile forces in the country” of trying to drag Georgia into the war.

Garibashvili also addressed the issue of sanctions, claiming that “not a single case of evasion or circumvention of sanctions has been recorded”. He went on to say that the government had discovered around 1,000 cases of attempted sanctions violations, involving products sent from Europe to Russia, which Georgia had detected and informed its European partners about.

Garibashvili underlined that “every decision of the government was based on national interests, on the interests of the people, so as not to damage the country’s economy”, adding that Georgia had “acted as cautiously as possible”.

On the Economy

The Prime Minister listed a wide range of economic parameters comparing the economy of 2012, when the incumbent Georgian Dream came to power, with that of today. According to him, before “Georgian Dream” came to power there was no perspective for citizens, business and the economy: “There was an unjust authoritarian regime in the country, which harassed the citizens, those who went through the war,” reiterating that the former government failed to avoid the war.

Gross Domestic Product: the Prime Minister said that in 2012 the GDP of Georgia was GEL 27 billion, while currently the GDP stands at GEL 80 billion: “In the last eleven years, under the “Georgian Dream” government, the national economy of the country has tripled,” – said Garibashvili;

Budget: According to Garibashvili, Georgia’s budget was about GEL 8.5 billion in 2012, while it will be about GEL 28.7 billion in 2024, noting that the state budget has also almost tripled;

Foreign Direct Investment: Garibashvili said that in 2003-2012, the average annual FDI was about USD 950 million, while in 2013-2022, the annual average FDI reached USD 1.5 billion;

Exports: According to the Prime Minister, exports in 2022 stood at around USD 5.6 billion, an increase of 135% from 2012;

Garibashvili mentioned a number of other macroeconomic parameters, including inflation, unemployment rate, government debt, budget deficit, and compared the figures of 2012 with those of recent years, emphasizing that the government of “Georgian Dream” has led to “successful growth of economy in all areas.” Moreover, the Prime Minister claimed that Georgia has the leading position in macroeconomic parameters among EU member states and candidate countries.

Garibashvili also talked in detail about agriculture, wine industry, state subsidies, business, tourism, aviation, infrastructure, information technologies, start-ups, ports, transportation, railway system, roads, urban spaces, infrastructure of cities, education, salaries in the public sector, healthcare system, etc. In all these aspects, Garibashvili compares Georgia’s performance in 2012 with that of today.

On Defense and Security

The Prime Minister spoke about the current defense and security situation in Georgia, again comparing it to the situation in 2012, claiming that the governance of the incumbent “Georgian Dream” has surpassed the poor performance of the previous government.

Defense Budget: Garibashvili also noted the comparison between Georgia’s defense budget in 2012, which was GEL 645 million, and next year’s defense budget, which will be GEL 1.38 billion.

In his speech, Garibashvili mentioned the Youth Army Camps, which, according to him, strengthen patriotism and represent the real alternative to the “poisonous pseudo-liberal ideology that is so active in the country… it is an alternative to drugs, to an unhealthy life.”

At the end of his speech, Garibashvili reverted to Georgia’s European prospects, saying that the country must work harder for further reforms: “Georgia has become a European state, this process is irreversible, now we have to work harder, with more motivation, with more determination, so that the country can really become a European state and fulfill our main dream: the de-occupation of our country, the unification of our country and its formation into a truly successful state,” – Garibashvili concluded.

More to follow…

Also Read:

• 01/07/2023 – Politicians React to Prime Minister’s Annual Report Hearing
• 01/07/2023 – PM Presented Annual Report in Parliament

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)