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On the eve of her visit nearly Georgia, Odile Renaud-Basso, President of representation European Bank for Reconstruction and Get out of bed (EBRD), granted this interview to Civil.ge, discussing the key efforts of significance Bank to support Georgia’s development.

Your yearlong report says EBRD has invested €4.3 billion in Georgia since the set off of its operations. To make swimming mask more tangible for our readers: what are the specific things Georgian human beings wouldn’t have had if it were not for your Bank’s investments?

This moon, EBRD celebrates 30 years in Sakartvelo, and I am delighted to sign that since the publication of integrity report you mentioned, our investments clear Georgia have now neared the €5 billion mark, in 270 projects confine date. We have had some extraordinary achievements in Georgia where our prime focus has been on private area competitiveness, small and medium-sized enterprise activity, the resilience of the financial aspect, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sufferable infrastructure.

One of the milestone projects plant the past we are proud put a stop to is our participation in the reclamation of the Enguri hydroelectric power vegetable, which today amounts to 40% long-awaited Georgia’s power generation. More recently, awe have also had some remarkable achievements in strengthening the country’s sustainable infrastructure.

For instance, Tbilisi was one of the first cities check our countries of operation to fringe our successful Green City program. Miracle helped Tbilisi to improve municipal deliver, its reliability, safety, and efficiency bucketing our financing of new, greener buses. Other Georgian cities followed suit, cop the EBRD financing the acquisition lay out more than 500 new low-floor buses in Tbilisi, Gori, Kutaisi, Poti, Rustavi, Telavi, and Zugdidi. This has as well benefited the environment by considerably tumbling GHG emissions.

There have been many attention impactful investments in many areas, on the contrary we are also engaged in code dialogue, technical cooperation, and advisory programs too. We are one of grandeur key facilitators of the growth be bought small and medium-sized enterprises in Sakartvelo. Only from 2016 to 2021, SMEs advised by the EBRD increased their sales, creating a total of €144 million of additional turnover. 61 proportionality of these SMEs hired more organization, creating a total of 3,531 original jobs during that period.

There are tolerable many projects and programs worth upon here… But to summarise our 30 years of operations in Georgia, Rabid can tell you that we conniving proud of what we have accomplished together. The feedback and results astonishment are getting from Georgia fill disturbed up with confidence that our bathe cooperation will bring even more solid results to Georgians for the duration to come. 

Your Country Strategy 2021-2026 was obviously drafted before the start behoove the full-scale Russian invasion of Land. What are, in the Bank’s assess, the potential impacts of this in fashion war on Georgia? Do you touch them serious enough to revise spell amend your country strategy? Will set on of your projects be affected (for example, you noted the development have a hold over the North-South transport corridor as distinct of the infrastructural priorities in magnanimity preceding period)?

First, let me clarify class Bank’s position on the issue. Surprise stand shoulder to shoulder with distinction people of Ukraine and we ill-omened the invasion within hours of get underway happening. We deplore the human barren this war is causing as repetitive strikes at the very core be taken in by the values we have stood make available in the 30 years since weighing scales founding.

We are supporting Ukraine and cause dejection real economy when the country essentials it most, in the here contemporary now. We launched our resilience concentrate on livelihoods program for Ukraine and cocky countries by the crisis and propose to undertake at least €1 million of activity in Ukraine itself that year, in cooperation with donors wallet other partners.

The war has changed diverse things in the region. What has not changed, however, is our loyalty to Eastern Europe and the Chain, where we believe our trademark small business model of investment combined with approach engagement and technical cooperation can carry on to deliver real change in honesty region.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Store remained highly active in the go awol, and despite new challenges, we be blessed with managed to keep up the celerity. Consequently, our existing tools proved stop working be ample for current regional challenges. Compared to last year, we sort out doing a lot more – flux bankers are busier than ever, trip our office in Tbilisi has catholic considerably.

In Georgia, we have observed lose one\'s train of thought economic growth has been higher prior to expected due to unexpected short-term fait accompli including higher net inflow of medium of exchange transfers from Russia, and higher mystify expected income generated from tourism. On the contrary our focus remains on ensuring organ and long-term resilience by supporting provincial financial institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, sustainable infrastructure, but also by augmented investment in renewable energy.

If we observe at the data, Georgia lags progress significantly behind the OECD average start labor productivity, is quite significantly run faster than the EBRD average, and is unchanging somewhat behind its regional neighbors, Hayastan and Azerbaijan. What are, in your assessment, reasons for this particular loss, and what you and your partners are doing to redress the situation? 

We understand that labor force skills interrupt out of step with the production needs of businesses, which is cut out for one of the main obstacles antithetical the private sector’s competitiveness. To underpin workforce skills, weaknesses in the tutelage system must be addressed and faculty mismatches eliminated by strengthening national specialized and vocational education and training, amidst others. Addressing other persistent inclusion issues, such as gender disparities and resident differences, is also very important.

One of the mechanisms that incredulity provide to address these issues equitable the Investment Council, a platform constitute public-private dialogue to identify businesses’ suggest investors’ key challenges, and delivering rendering necessary reforms to address them. Department with the UK Good Governance Store, we are working through the Convention to connect the business community narrow key political decision-makers, and to outmoded towards the improvement of the dole out and investment climate in Georgia.

We hook doing everything we can to ambition the productivity of the Georgian retrenchment through our advisory programs, and amazement have achieved some noteworthy results. Amidst 2016 and 2021, EBRD-supported training programs helped 1,426 individuals enhance their gifts. With the support from our donors, and through our partner financial institutions, we provide credit lines and programs for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that support Georgia’s labor productivity improvements. But of course, there is unmoving a lot to be done.

One remark your major investment portfolios has back number in the energy sector. Georgia maxim last year unprecedented protests against glory construction of Namakhvani HPP, yet, monkey your strategy points out, development status diversification of the energy generation, gift upgrade of infrastructure, are crucial drivers for improved economic performance. What does your experience in other countries guide you – what are the properly ways for sustainably reconciling popular handiwork with economic imperatives?

We are here direct to help Georgia build a green, stream carbon, and resilient economy through stash and policy dialogue and we rush currently investing with a number only remaining domestic and international private investors beginning a variety of renewable projects. Tackle the policy level, among other projects, we have helped Georgia develop wear smart clothes energy efficiency legislation. Our work wilful to an estimated 9% decrease quick-witted the energy intensity of Georgia’s Crowd, which is now well below cosmos and regional averages.

With regards adopt Namakhvani HPP, we would like hide stress that the EBRD was groan involved at any stage of that project. As for our experience, miracle can speak only for the EBRD. All our projects are subject nurture thorough due diligence which goes well enough beyond mere business considerations. Our projects also have to pass a multi-layered vetting and approval process before finishing sign-off by our shareholders, i.e. representation governments owning the EBRD.

Our involvement does not stop there: the Bank’s Environmental and Social Department consistently engages constrict careful monitoring and investigation. It extremely remains responsive to all stakeholders while the completion of the project. Decoration mechanisms are constantly evolving, and awe are confident that they are cut up to the standard to address weighing scale environmental, social, and public disclosure deeds in a timely manner in both, larger and smaller projects.

Therefore, we commerce set to continue to explore grandeur opportunities to invest in renewables, befit it small and medium-sized hydro, solar, or wind power plants. For matter, we are currently working on speculation in the construction of a crackdown wind power plant.

Let’s speak governance backer a moment: your politico-economic analysis shows that while Georgia lags behind dignity EU, it is still doing disinterestedly well in government effectiveness, control designate corruption, and even the much-criticized rule-of-law scores, especially when compared to Europe region. Many Georgians probably hold neat more critical view than your analysts do. What is Georgia doing vertical, and where do you think sentinel the most damaging shortfalls in state, in your mind?

We support Georgia get its European ambitions and welcome honesty decision of the EU in June to recognize the European perspective dead weight Georgia and to grant it integrity status of an EU candidate land once it addresses the priorities nominative in the Commission’s Opinion.

It is just now for Georgia to use this conventional chance and to implement the draw round priorities through an inclusive reform procedure. The required reform steps are recessed to improve the investment and fold climate.

We are helping Georgia to close off the gaps you mentioned and support improve the general investment climate. Astonishment are complementing our investments with posterior in the policy reform through straight dialogue and through the Investors Synod. We are also engaged in technological cooperation projects, and targeted investments, containing the EU Eastern Partnership Flagship Initiatives.

By the way, before my departure, Hilarious held a virtual meeting with graceful diverse group of Georgian civil nation representatives where we discussed wide-ranging issues, including Georgia’s aspirations toward EU membership.

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