The Daily Beat: 7 May

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze was named the new chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party during its May 7 congress, following Irakli Garibashvili’s April 25 announcement that he was stepping down from the party and politics. As a new chair, Kobakhidze announced the updated composition of the GD political council.

The U.S. Embassy in Georgia issued a security alert on the evening of May 6 regarding bomb threats targeting three shopping malls in the capital, Tbilisi, advising its staff to avoid the locations until further notice. The Embassy said that it learned of bomb threats directed at East Point Shopping Mall, Galleria Tbilisi, and Tbilisi Shopping Area.

Following the embassy’s announcement, the Georgian State Security Service addressed the alleged threats on Facebook, claiming they were “working on another false report” and taking urgent measures. The Security Service also urged diplomatic representatives in Georgia to respect security agencies and to refrain from uncoordinated statements.

For the first time in 18 years, Georgia paid more for natural gas imports from Russia than from Azerbaijan during the first quarter of 2025, RFL-Tbilisi bureau reported, citing data from the National Statistics Office. Geostat figures suggest that in the first quarter of 2025, Georgia imported a total of $183.05 million worth of natural gas. Of that amount, $100.6 million was spent on Russian gas, while $82.4 million was spent on Azerbaijani gas.

The supervisory board of Georgian Railway, the state-owned railway monopoly, has appointed Lasha Abashidze as its new chief executive officer, replacing Davit Peradze. Abashidze previously served as vice mayor of Tbilisi under Mayor Davit Narmania in 2015 and was chief of staff in the administration of former President Giorgi Margvelashvili until stepping down in June 2014.

The Data of the Day

On May 7, the Monetary Policy Committee of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) decided to keep the key refinancing rate unchanged at 8,0%. In April, Geostat reported that annual inflation stood at 3.4%, which the NBG noted remains close to its 3% target.

Core inflation – excluding food, energy products, and cigarettes, which are typically subject to high price volatility – was 2.3%. According to the NBG, Georgia’s economy “remains robust in tandem with maintained price stability.” In the first quarter of 2025, real GDP growth averaged 9.3%, “driven by structural changes in the economy.”