Mamuka Tsereteli, a senior fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute within the American Foreign Policy Council, wrote on the Black Sea undersea power and digital cable line project by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania, and Hungary to transmit clean Caspian Sea energy to Europe in CEPA. He stated that the ambitious energy cable project represents a significant step toward bolstering Europe’s energy independence amid the loss of Russian energy supplies. Tsereteli further noted that Georgia spearheaded the inception of the effort and is currently moving ahead with the feasibility study stage.
Georgia is “one of the leading countries” in the enforcement of international sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili recently said. He stated that the Government of Georgia and the National Bank are exercising strict control over the financial sector and in trade to ensure Russia cannot circumvent sanctions leveled against it through Georgian territory, and further noted that Georgia is in close coordination with both the U.S. and EU on the matter. Khutsishvili added that information is being exchanged on a daily basis with partner countries and that cooperation continues with relevant agencies in the EU, US, United Kingdom, and other states exercising control on the enforcement of the sanctions.
The Georgian economy grew by an astonishing 11% in December and 10.1 percent over the past year, according to data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia. The impressive results follow the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects January report that said the Georgian economy’s 2022 growth had featured a “much stronger” domestic economic activity compared with expectations in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The strong economic performance is a result of the Government of Georgia’s economic agenda to prioritize the recovery from COVID-19 and improve its domestic infrastructure.
A slew of recent rankings has seen Georgia make substantial records in its anti-corruption, human rights, and credit efforts. As of now, Georgia ranks 41st globally & among the top 20 in Europe for the first time in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2022, 43rd and the regional leader in the Fraser Institute’s Human Freedom Index, and Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on Georgia’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Positive from Stable and affirmed the IDR at ‘BB’.