BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 13
By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:
As the country with open economy that relies on tourism, trade and remittances, Georgia is vulnerable to COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director for Georgia Shane Rosenthal told Trend.
As Rosenthal noted, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis has pushed the world economy into a recession.
"ADB projects no growth in 2020, and a rebound to 4.5 percent in 2021 in Georgia. These figures are based on the assumption that growth will start in the latter part of this year. However we have to be ready to adjust our expectations since the situation is unprecedented and changing rapidly," he said.
According to Rosenthal, in Georgia tourism and services have been hardest hit, and trade and remittances are lower.
"Georgia is an open economy and therefore vulnerable to economic shocks like this. Restrictions needed to contain the spread of the virus have placed a burden on households and small businesses, and the government is already taking effective steps to help," he noted.
As the director noted, looking ahead, it’s likely that tourism will take time to recover.
"However, Georgia has been a strong reformer, built strong buffers and has a solid financial sector, all of which positions the country well for recovery once the conditions are right," he emphasized.
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