Georgia is aiming for a new programme with the International Monetary Fund and hopes to meet with the lender in February, the country's deputy finance minister told Reuters, APA reports.
The three-year $289 million Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), agreed June 2022, has been on hold since June 2023 after a push to amend legislation to change the management structure at the central bank raised questions over its independence. SBAs provide short-term financial assistance to countries facing balance of payments problems.
"We definitely want to go back on track...most probably a new programme because the current one is on its final turn," said Deputy Minister of Finance Ekaterine Guntsadze.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Invisso Central & Eastern European Forum, Guntsadze said talks during a staff visit by the Fund to the country or a virtual mission could "kick-start" the next stage of their relationship.
An IMF programme could reassure investors in Georgia - a country of 3.7 million people, which until 1991 was ruled from Moscow as part of the Soviet Union and which stands at a crossroads in its international relations.
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