The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has emphasized the importance of transparency in assessing Georgia’s planned Economic Development Corporation, particularly regarding competition between public and private capital. Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, shared this view in an interview recorded during the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.
Azour noted that the risks associated with the new entity will largely depend on how it operates. While some countries have established sovereign wealth funds, often funded by oil and gas revenues to diversify income sources, he stressed that Georgia’s context is different.
For an economy like Georgia’s, which has a relatively strong financial system and a dynamic private sector, Azour highlighted the need to ensure sufficient space for private businesses to grow. Maintaining transparency in how public and private sectors interact, as well as in the financial reporting of such institutions, is critical.
He added that advancing state-owned enterprise reforms, by improving accountability and transparency while strengthening the role of the private sector, would help boost productivity and support economic growth. The Georgian government plans to create the corporation by merging the former Partnership Fund with the “Enterprise Georgia” agency.
