Tag Archives: Georgia

Economic boom in Georgia

AUG. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – For the full year to end-July, its grew by 7.2%, a rise from 6.2% for the 12 months to the end of June, Georgia’s statistics agency said.

This growth far outstrips other countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Georgia is less reliant on Russia’s economy, which has been faltering on sanctions imposed on it since fighting broke out in Ukraine.

Instead, Georgia is increasingly looking to the European Union for economic growth. This month it will receive another boost when its accession into a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU comes into force. This will give it products — especially agriculture products, wine and water — a boost in Europe.

To coincide with this, Moody’s the ratings agency increased Georgia’s outlook to one notch below investment grade.

“We hope to see new businesses oriented on exporting their goods to the EU market and this, in turn, will lead to the diversification and growth of exports,” Mikheil Janelidze, deputy minister for the economy and sustainable development, told eurasiaNet.org.

In comparison, Armenia’s economy is faltering because of its over-reliance on Russia. Officials there are beginning to sound increasingly worried, also, about its impending admission to the Russia-led Customs Union.

In Central Asia, too, economies are under increasing pressure because of their over reliance on Russia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)

Georgian parliament moves to Tbilisi

SEPT. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Less than two years after the government of Mikheil Saakashvili moved Georgia’s parliament from the centre of Tbilisi to a new-built glass dome in Kutaisi, 225km away, it is moving back. Parliament held its first session after the summer recess in Tbilis. The two parliaments will now split meetings.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)

US supports Georgian NATO ambition

AUG. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a boost for Georgia’s chances of joining NATO, or at least making serious progress towards joining, US vice-president Joe Biden said that he supported the Georgian ambition of joining the Western military alliance, media reported. NATO is due to meet for its annual conference in September.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 197, published on Aug. 27 2014)

Georgian rebel region votes for new president

AUG. 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The rebel Georgian region of Abkhazia voted in Raul Khajimba as its new president. Bucking expectations, Mr Khajimba won the vote in the first round, providing Abkhazia and Russia, its patron, with a show of unity. Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia in 2008. Georgia described the vote as illegal.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 197, published on Aug. 27 2014)

Georgia delayed jury trials

SEPT. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia has delayed by two years the roll out nationwide of juries in trials.

In 2010, Tbilisi became the first city in former Soviet Caucasus or Central Asia to allow jury verdicts in some trials. Initially, jury trials were limited to those in which both the prosecution and defence in murder cases agreed to it. The former Soviet Union has no legacy of jury trials and their introduction was considered a great modernising step by the administration of former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Of course introducing jury trials suited Mr Saakashvili’s vision of where Georgia was heading. Mr Saakashvili was an arch-Western reformer. He saw Georgia’s future with the European Union, the United States and NATO. Introducing jury trials was another step in this direction.

The experiment was deemed a success and rolled out to courts in Georgia’s second city of Kutaisi. There have, reports said, been eight murder cases involving juries.

And lawmakers had put forward ambitious plans to push jury trials out across the country not only for murder cases but all crimes that involve a prison sentence from Oct. 1 2014. This has now been delayed.

Poor court infrastructure, a lack of understanding on how juries operate and the extra cost and time of running jury trials were the reasons behind the delay, the civil.ge new website reported quoted the Georgian ministry of justice as saying.

Still, the ambitious plan has only been delayed for two years, rather than scrapped altogether.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 201, published on Sept. 24 2014)

Georgia responds to US criticism

AUG.11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili responded to criticism from US senators that Georgia was unfairly prosecuting former president Mikheil Saakashvili for abuse of power by saying his prosecution would create a more equal society.The US, Georgia’s most important ally, has said charges against Mr Saakashvili are politically motivated.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)

Georgian defence minister flies to Kabul

AUG.11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian defence minister Irakli Alasania flew to Kabul to meet his Afghan counterpart and sign various memorandums agreeing to broaden cooperation. The visit and the agreements underline Georgia’s desire to help Afghanistan and curry favour with the US. It wants to join NATO and is using its military as an extension of its diplomatic corps.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)

Georgia responds to US criticism

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)

Georgian wine exports grow

AUG. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Exports of Georgian wine, a national icon for Georgia, nearly doubled in the first seven months of the year, media reported quoting the national wine agency. Most of this increase, the agency reported, was to Russia which has reopened its markets to Georgian products over the last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 194, published on Aug. 6 2014)

Georgia issues Saakashvili arrest warrant

AUG. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Georgia issued an arrest warrant for former president Mikheil Saakashvili on charges that he abused his power and illegally privatised state assets during his 10 years in power. Mr Saakashvili, who is living in Europe, has said the new Georgian government is using the law to settle vendettas.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 194, published on Aug. 6 2014)