Economic Press Monitor May 4 - 10, 2025	Days:  12 19 26 03 10

economic & politics

FORBES GEORGIA: “LASHA ABASHIDZE APPOINTED AS GENERAL DIRECTOR OF “GEORGIAN RAILWAY””

May 8, 2025 - Lasha Abashidze was appointed director general of the Georgian Railway. He replaced David Peradze, who occupied the office since December 2017.




REZONANSI: “THE NEW OLD CHAIRMAN – KOBAKHIDZE HAS ALREADY ALMOST TOTAL FORMAL POWER”

May 8, 2025 - On May 7, the congress of the Georgian Dream elected Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze the party chairman again (he was first elected to this post in 2021, while was replaced in 2024 by Irakli Garibashvili, who declared recently about leave from politics). At the congress, a 15-member political council was approved, which includes the honorary chairman of the party, Bidzina Ivanishvili.




TABULA: “JOE WILSON PUBLISHED LIST OF PERSONS, WHO WILL BE SUBJECTED TO SANCTIONS UNDER MEGOBARI ACT”

May 7, 2025 - On May 5, the US House of Representatives supported the MEGOBARI Act (Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resistance, and Independence Act), which obliges the US president to impose sanctions against representatives of the Georgian Dream authorities, their accomplices and family members.

Republican Congressman Joe Wilson has published a list of individuals, who will be sanctioned under the MEGOBARI Act after its final approval.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “TAMAZ KHUBUA – MAIN GOAL OF SUKHUMI AIRPORT IS MILITARY, AND ONLY 1% BELONGS TO ATTRACTION OF TOURISTS”

May 5, 2025 - “Another act of economic annexation is being carried out”, says Tamaz Khubua, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia, commenting on the first flight between Moscow and Sukhumi on May 1. The airport serves military purposes and only 1% belongs to attraction of tourists.




REZONANSI: “OPPOSITION IS TRYING TO BREAK THROUGH “FINANCIAL BLOCKADE” – NEW FUNDS AND THEIR IMPACT ON PROCESSES”

May 5, 2025 - Blogger David Chincharadze on May 1 announced the creation of the Freedom Fund with a foreign account, which will be “impossible to arrest”. The fund will pay fines, imposed on protesters, and provide assistance to detainees.




NETGAZETI.GE: “FORMER AMBASSADOR EXPLAINS WHAT THE ANNOUNCED STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE FOREIGN MINISTRY MEAN”

May 5, 2025 - Georgian Foreign Ministry announced creation of a new directorate, which will unite the departments of Europe and European integration.

This decision of the Georgian Dream government is a direct signal that “they are no longer interested in the European integration and this direction is no longer a priority for them”, says former Georgian ambassador to Denmark Gigi Gigiadze.

macroeconomics & budget

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GEORGIAN ECONOMY HAS MOVED TO A NEW LEVEL OF PRODUCTIVITY, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IS MAINLY DUE TO RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE SPHERES – NATIA TURNAVA”

May 6, 2025 - The average annual economic growth of Georgia for the past 4 years makes up 9.3%, which means that “Georgian economy has moved to a new level of productivity”, declared Natia Turnava, president of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), while speaking on the air of Imedi TV company. The growth is mainly conditioned by rapid development of highly productive industries, she said.

energy, oil & gas

TABULA: “IN Q1 OF 2025, GEORGIA PAID $100.6M FOR RUSSIAN GAS, AND 82.4 FOR AZERI ONE”

May 8, 2025 - Referring to Sakstat, the article reports that from January to March, Georgia $100.6 million for Russian gas. While in the same period, Azeri gas cost the country $82.4 million.

companies

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “VANO ZARDIASHVILI HAS BEEN APPOINTED NEW DIRECTOR GENERAL OF “GEORGIAN STATE ELECTROSYSTEM””

May 7, 2025 - Vano Zardiashvili has been appointed the new director general of Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE).

From 2021 to 2025, Zardiashvili served as director of GSE for legal affairs, environmental protection, social issues and permits.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “RIKE PITCHERS ARE SOLD – WHO IS THE NEW OWNER?”

May 6, 2025 - Businessman David Khidasheli sold the so-called “Rike Pitchers” (buildings in the form of laying pitchers, located in Rike area of Tbilisi). The new owner became the company Rike Dome, registered in March 2025.

transport & communications

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “EUGENE ZHUKOV – AT THIS STAGE, ADB DOES NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANAKLIA PORT PROJECT – IF TRADE IN THE MIDDLE CORRIDOR GROWS, GEORGIA WILL BENEFIT FROM CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW PORT”

May 8, 2025 - If trade in the Middle Corridor grows, as it is expected, Georgia will benefit from construction of Anaklia port, Eugene Zhukov, director general of the Central and Western Asia department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), told journalists.

Zhukov said that ADB is not currently involved in the Anaklia port project, but the bank has already made quite significant investments in Georgia in terms of the Middle Corridor development.




BATUMELEBI: “WHAT DID THEY CHANGE IN THE ANAKLIA PORT PROJECT – 3.4M WILL BE SPENT ON CONSULTATIONS”

May 6, 2025 - State-owned LLC Anaklia Sea Port has amended the project of the port construction in Anaklia. As a result, pass of the screening procedure (environmental impact assessment) at Georgian National Environmental Agency has to be repeated.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “RAILWAY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND GEORGIA WILL START AT THE END OF MAY”

May 5, 2025 - Railway communication between Azerbaijan and Georgia will start at the end of May, the Azerbaijani press reports. The first train will make its travels on May 26 in honor of the Independence Day of Georgia and May 28 in honor of the Azerbaijan Republic Day.

agriculture & food

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “QUALITY OF GEORGIAN FLOUR IS NOT ONLY INFERIOR TO RUSSIAN FLOUR, BUT EVEN SUPERIOR TO IT, WE OFFER BREAD PRODUCERS TO EXAMINE GEORGIAN AND RUSSIAN FLOUR IN ACCREDITED LABORATORY”

May 7, 2025 - “Our position is that quality of Georgian flour is not only inferior to the quality of Russian flour, but even superior to it”, declares Levan Silagava, executive director of Georgian Wheat and Flour Producers Association. The matter concerns flour of grade 1, used in the production of bread, he specifies.