IMF Praises Georgia's Success In Attracting Investment
(official website) TBILISI, May 29, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- An official with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today that Georgia has performed well in bringing more investment into the country, RFE/RL's Georgian Service reported.
"I think it's notable that over the past two years, FDI [foreign direct investment] flows to Georgia have been higher than any other country in the region as a percentage of GDP," IMF official David Owen said during a presentation in Tbilisi on regional economic outlook.
"I think that's a clear reflection of the success of the structural reforms and strengthening of the business environment that has gone on since 2003," he added.
Good Climate
In a recent report, The IMF lauded Georgia's investment climate and ability to record GDP growth of around 9 percent in 2006 in the face of economic sanctions imposed by Russia.
The World Bank, meanwhile, in its 2006 "Doing Business" survey named Georgia the No. 1 reformer in the world.
Owen and other IMF officials were in Tbilisi to mark Georgia's transfer to a new stage of cooperation with the fund in its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility plan, the IMF's low-interest lending facility for low-income countries.
(with material from Caucasus Press)
Walking A Tightrope
Georgia's pro-Western administration has to tread carefully between Russia and the West. more
EU Pleased With Confidence Measures
EU Caucasus envoy Peter Semneby speaks to RFE/RL about Georgia's 'frozen conflicts.' more
RFE/RL Caucasus Report
SUBSCRIBE For weekly news and in-depth analysis on Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia's North Caucasus by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Caucasus Report."
IMF Says CIS Growing Fast, But Care Needed
Boom Sparks Fears Of 'Dutch Disease'
U.S.: Sliding Dollar Pinches Ex-Soviet Middle Class
World: IMF And World Bank Cancel 18 Countries' Debt