Baku, Azerbaijan, July 11
By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:
The policy of the National Bank of Georgia towards reducing the degree of dollarization and raising the effectiveness of responsible lending were the right and timely decision in terms of lari depreciation, said Archil Mestvirishvili, vice president of the National Bank of Georgia, Trend reports with reference to commersant.ge.
In his words, a floating exchange rate regime is currently in effect in Georgia. The exchange rate is affected by various internal and external factors. Moreover, recent events including expected reduction in the flow of tourists from Russia and the uncertainty regarding the introduction of possible Russian sanctions also negatively influenced the lari exchange rate, which over the past three weeks has changed several times.
According to the Bank's calculations, the inflow of foreign currencies into the country during the year will be higher than the forecast, and this in turn will have an impact on the increase in the exchange rate.
Georgian lari began to depreciate sharply in the end of June after the cancellation of flights from Russia to Georgia. On July 11, the lari exchange rate is 2.86 lari per dollar.
Earlier, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Natia Turnava excluded connection of depreciation of national currency with Russia's tourist embargo. According to her, it is a short-term rate fluctuation.
On June 21, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree prohibiting air transportation of citizens from Russia to Georgia. The flights of the Georgian airlines to Russia were also suspended.