SEPT. 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s foreign trade balance worsened, as imports increased and exports decreased in the first eight months of 2016 compared to the same period last year, the Statistics Committee said. Exports fell by 10% to $1.3b, while imports rose to $6.1b, a 23% jump.
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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)
SEPT. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Two ministers linked to the ruling Georgian Dream party resigned ahead of the October election to comply with eligibility requirements. Otar Danelia, minister of agriculture, and Kakha Kaladze, minister of energy, resigned to run as high-profile candidates in the Georgian Dream ranks. Under Georgia’s election rules, ministers have to resign to run.
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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)
SEPT. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili named Irina Imerlishvili, secretary of the National Security Council, and Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze, former parliamentary secretary of the President, as new judges at the Constitutional Court. Soon after the upcoming election, Parliament and the Supreme Court are also due to nominate two new judges, which could significantly change the makeup of the 9- seat Court.
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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)
SEPT. 12 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Vatican released a schedule for Pope Francis’ second trip to the South Caucasus. The Pope will spend two days in Georgia, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, and the following day in Azerbaijan. In June, Pope Francis had visited Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 296, published on Sept. 16 2016)
TBILISI, SEPT. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s Central Election Commission said that 41 political parties had registered to compete in the country’s Oct. 8 parliamentary elections, highlighting the potentially fraught and unpredictable nature of the vote.
It also said that the 41 political parties had formed seven blocs, including the current governmental Georgian Dream and the United National Movement (the party of former President Mikheil Saakashvili).
Pollsters have said the election is going to be too close to call. A poll by the US’ National Democratic Institute (NDI) in July said 58% of voters were still undecided.
“This level of undecided people just weeks before an election should be a wake up call for all the contesting parties,” said Laura Thornton NDI senior director.
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(News report from Issue No. 295, published on Sept. 9 2016)
SEPT. 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Georgia in the first half of 2016 grew by 10% compared to the same period last year. In Q2, FDI declined by 3.8% to $445m. Azerbaijan, Britain and the Czech Republic were the three largest investors in Georgia in Q2. FDI in the transport and communications sector made up more than a third of the total inflow.
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(News report from Issue No. 295, published on Sept. 9 2016)
SEPT. 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s gas distributor said that it will cut Russian gas supplies to Armenia for one week from Sept. 7 to carry out maintenance work on a section of the pipeline that crosses the country from the Caucasus. This is the second time in two months that the pipeline has been closed for maintenance and the cuts highlight the importance of Armenia’s negotiations with Iran to boost supplies from the south.
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(News report from Issue No. 295, published on Sept. 9 2016)
SEPT. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A NATO-sponsored military exercise took place in Georgia, the second in four months, potentially aggravating Georgia-Russia relations. Six countries participated in the military exercises. Georgia wants to join NATO and contributed to NATO operations in Afghanistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 295, published on Sept. 9 2016)
SEPT. 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — An agreement on Georgia’s visa-free arrangement with the EU moved forward after a committee at the European Parliament voted in favour of the proposal. There are still hurdles, though, as the agreement, which was delayed in June, must be approved by the Parliament, the European Commission and EU member states.
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(News report from Issue No. 295, published on Sept. 9 2016)
SEPT. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s Central Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 6.5%, the fourth rate cut in five months. The Central Bank has said it wants to lower interest rates further to prop up economic activity. In April, before the first cut, Georgia’s key interest rate stood at 8%. Georgian interest rates have yoyoed from 4% for most of 2014, climbing sharply to 8% before being lowered.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 295, published on Sept. 9 2016)
