BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 9
By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:
The government of Georgia will take a new loan worth 4.47 billion lari ($1.5 billion) to handle the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the anti-crisis budget for 2020 presented on June 9, Trend reports citing Georgian media.
The emergency funding has been brought in from the Asian Development Bank - 1.45 billion lari ($492.1 million), German development bank - 805 million lari ($273.2 million), International Monetary Fund - 603 million lari ($204.6 million), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank - 450 million lari ($152.7 million), French Development Bank - 439 million lari ($149 million), World Bank - 396 million lari ($134.4 million), European Union - 241 million lari ($81.7 million).
Overall, in 2020, the government of Georgia will increase foreign debt by 6.1 billion lari ($2.07 billion) , and domestic debt by 1.8 billion lari ($610.9 million). Also, the budget deficit will increase from 2.5 percent to 8.5 percent.
"The increase in the deficit is, of course, directly related to the increase in government debt. According to the current forecast, by the end of this year, the volume of debt will approach 55 percent of the GDP", reads the budget.
The Parliament of Georgia is considering the amendments to the country's budget for 2020, according to which it is necessary to gradually reduce the government's debt in the coming years and to return to the pre-crisis parameters as soon as possible.
According to the anti-crisis budget, in order to achieve this goal, the borrowing rate will be significantly reduced from 2021, and therefore the volume of debt in relation to GDP will be partially reduced next year.
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