BBC Business Correspondent Joe Lynam on Georgia’s Promising Future
'You have the rule of law, infrastructure and human resources, if you continue on this path, in 15 years Georgia will be the leader of the Caucasus.' – forecasted Joe Lynam, the chief business correspondent of BBC at the Silk Road Forum in Tbilisi.
Lynam visited Tbilisi in the set of Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, where he would lead one of the panels. After the completion of the panel, Lynam talked to Georgian media about Georgia’s competitiveness, affordability and attractiveness. He also mentioned the positive international standing of Georgia in the component of ‘Ease of Doing Business’, (World Economic Forum) which is very appealing for investors and helps to earn their trust.
“These types of ratings are a good example. People need assurances to invest. They need to know the rule of law. They have to know if they enter into a dispute, the courts will be just. This is very important for international business. That is the reason investors are entering Georgia. You have rule of law, you have the infrastructure and human capital. If you continue on this path, in 15 years Georgia will be the leader of Caucasus.” he stated.
Lynam also compared the Georgian economic example to that of his homeland, Ireland.
“I want to you a story about a small open republic and how it transformed itself. In the early 1970s, the republic of Ireland was the poorest country in western Europe. It was agriculture-based and its young people were emigrating. And 60% of its trade went to one big powerful neighbor. Then we joined the European Community, it invested in infrastructure, in brainpower and universities. And it looked over its tax regime. In 2019 Ireland is the second richest country in the European Union, only little Luxembourg is richer. Georgia could learn from that lesson. Georgia could be the Republic of Ireland in this area.
The Silk Road initiative could be the start of a major transformation for this country. One that makes this country wealthy and home to its young people.” Lynam said in his opening statement.
By Beka Alexishvili