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ADB expects economic growth in Georgia to accelerate in 2021

Business Materials 8 July 2020 19:27 (UTC +04:00)
ADB expects economic growth in Georgia to accelerate in 2021

BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 8

By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:

Georgia now has the lowest rate of new coronavirus cases in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director for Georgia Shane Rosenthal told Trend.

"I’m cautiously optimistic about the future, especially as we see signs that the worst might be over in some countries and restrictions on activity and travel begin to be lifted, but the recovery will take time and remain tied to how the rest of the world is doing," Rosenthal said.

According to him, trade and remittances are down in Georgia and global tourism is expected to recover slowly, making a “V”-shaped recovery unlikely.

As Rosenthal noted, concerns about a recurrence of COVID-19 mean it is difficult to make accurate projections about how fast the economy will grow in 2020.

"At the beginning of the year, the Asian Development Bank was anticipating 4.6 percent growth in Georgia, but this was revised to -5 percent after the pandemic took hold. We expect the economic growth to accelerate to 5 percent in 2021 as countries lift containment measures and growth rebounds in some of Georgia’s trading partners. We could see further changes as more becomes known about the full impact of the pandemic and the pace of recovery," the director noted.

He added that lifting containment measures must be balanced with the concern about a recurrence of COVID-19.

"Moving too quickly could cause new outbreaks to occur, and squander the gains that Georgia has made through sacrifice and discipline. Getting it right will open the door to a lasting, if lengthy recovery," Rosenthal noted.

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