Georgian Parliament Speaker: IMF report proves national interest key

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday lauded the latest assessment from the International Monetary Fund, stating that its “truly astonishing results confirm why one should follow national interests and not the dictates of others”.

Papuashvili’s comments came in response to the IMF's recent report on Georgia’s economic performance, highlighting that the country’s economy performed remarkably well despite increased domestic and geopolitical uncertainty.

In his remarks, the Speaker asserted that the Georgian Government could have achieved “much more” were it not for constant external attempts to undermine the country.

He drew a stark comparison between Georgia and Moldova to illustrate his point.

“The severe economic stagnation in Moldova, which fulfills all Brussels’ demands, and the economic miracle in Georgia, an object of Brussels’ attacks, clearly demonstrate this”, he noted.

“But beyond this joy lies frustration - realising that we could have achieved twice as much were it not for the ongoing efforts to harm Georgia from the outside; the donor-fed hatred and extremism; the attempts by NGOs to drag Georgia into escalation with Russia; and the domestic actors driven by foreign interests, waving foreign flags with no homeland of their own”, he concluded.