The IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department head, Masood Ahmed, believes the billions of dollars in aid pledged to Georgia after the August war with Russia and the series of measures taken by the Government will well position Tbilisi to weather the world financial meltdown.
On their part, the Government and several prominent luminaries argue that the Georgian economy, being not deeply integrated with the world economy, will suffer the impact of the world economic contraction much less severely than most other national economies. However, it suffices to mention a few economic indicators which contradict this optimistic analysis: investments, which were the main driving force of recent double-digit growth, have almost stopped, inflation has generally increased, and unemployment is steadily on the rise.
The most severe blow to the Georgian population will come from the serious decline of remittances from abroad in 2009. This decrease in remittances, which is inevitable, will substantially reduce the local economic activity in many sectors in 2009 and during the next few years.
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