Natia Turnava, Acting President of the National Bank of Georgia, and Irakli Lekvinadze, Chairman of the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency, signed a memorandum of cooperation to promote competition and consumer rights protection.
"It is notable that the National Bank of Georgia and the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency signed an amended memorandum today, which envisions collaboration between the agencies in the areas of competition policy and consumer rights protection. The cooperation agreement between our agencies has been in existence since 2018, however it only allowed for collaboration in the competition policy area. Furthermore, based on the recommendations of World Bank and International Monetary Fund experts, it is appropriate to move to a new stage of cooperation, because, given the significant results achieved by the current memorandum, even closer coordination between the agencies is on the agenda. Thus, the amended memorandum envisions more flexible and effective mechanisms of cooperation in both consumer rights protection and competition policy enforcement, and we believe that it will foster even more successful cooperation in both directions,"-said Natia Turnava.
By signing the memorandum, the agency's leaders emphasized their willingness to work closely together to prevent violations, restore violated consumer rights, create a healthy competitive environment, and raise public awareness.
"Today's memorandum plays an important role in promoting a competitive environment in the financial industry, enacting regulatory legislation to defend consumer rights, and ensuring its implementation. Amendments in competition legislation in 2020 clarified the forms of engagement with the financial sector's regulator. We communicate relevant information on a daily basis to ensure the effective enforcement of competition and consumer rights protection policies. As a result, tight cooperation with the National Bank is strategically crucial for the agency," Irakli Lekvinadze stated while signing the memorandum.
The parties expressed a willingness to strengthen bilateral cooperation for the purpose of effectively enforcing the Association Agreement between the European Union and Georgia, enforcing competition and consumer protection mechanisms in the financial sector, and raising public awareness.
