Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

The Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved the new strategy on Georgia, which considers the main priorities of the EBRD in Georgia for the period of 2013-2016, the bank reported on September 24.

According to the statement of the bank, the strategy aims to support further development of Georgia's corporate sector, increasing the use of renewable energy, as well as the country's integration into regional and global markets.

The new strategy recognizes the efforts of Georgia made in an effort to remain the leading reformer in the region, as well as the successes based on structural reforms, which include improving the legal and regulatory structures for companies, liberalization of the custom regime and further simplification of the tax system.

According to the bank, the EBRD's strategy, which covers the period of 2013-2016, defines the following priorities: implementation of private investment (the bank will continue to carry out transactions with customers of the private sector, both directly and indirectly through the commercial banks operating in Georgia), the completion of the modernization of the energy sector (bank will complete projects in the energy sector and it will increase electricity production and expand its access to export markets), as well as support for regional and global economic integration of Georgia (the bank will focus on projects in various fields, including infrastructure, logistics, telecommunications and financial sector).

EBRD has operated in Georgia since 1993 and to date it has funded the implementation of 159 projects worth around 1.8 billion euro. Almost 66 percent of the total liabilities of the bank in Georgia falls on the financial sector, 19 percent on the energy sector, 11 percent on industry, commerce and agriculture and about 4.5 percent on infrastructure.