Foreign Economists Share Experiences from Development Forum in Georgia

TBILISI - Harvard University's Dani Rodrik and Charles Sabel from New York's Columbia University were invited to Tbilisi to participate in an Economic Development Forum held on August 4-5, where the two shared their visions and ideas regarding the development of economic policies in Georgia.

"Economic regulations need to be more active. The government should communicate with the private sector and listen to opinions coming from the private sector and take them into account, "said Rodrik.

Both Rodrik and Sabel also discussed global economic issues and challenges facing the Georgian economy.

Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili delivered a speech at the opening of the forum, where he spoke about how the government would contribute to the country's economic development. Kvirikashvili's pointed to changes in the education system, reforms in the economy, a service-oriented state model and rapid modernization of the capital Tbilisi's infrastructure as keys to turning around the economy.

"Each country is in need of an economic growth policy that meets its demands," said Kvirikashvili and noted that Georgia is a country with an open economic system that is navigating quite well across the regional economies.

According to Kvirikashvili, corporate tax will be abolished in Georgia from 2017, following the Estonian model where only distributed income will be taxed.

"Amending the capital market and reforming the pension system will be based on mandatory payments," he said.

In a speech delivered at the forum, Economy Minister Dimitri Kumsishvili said Georgia is one of the most progressive and successful countries in the field of reforms.

By Thea Morrison

Edited by Nicholas Waller