Georgia may catch up with Europe by many economic indicators in 2028 - candidate for PM

TBILISI. Nov 28 (Interfax) - Candidate for prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze presented a four-year government program indicating development priorities at a plenary meeting of the Georgian parliament on Thursday.

"The Georgian economy will grow by 40 billion lari (the official exchange rate is 2.74 lari to the dollar) to 130 billion lari within the next four years. This means we will catch up with European states by many economic parameters in four years," Kobakhidze said.

The economic growth will allow Georgia to minimize unemployment and create jobs, he said.

"The average salary in Georgia will exceed 3,500 lari in 2028," Kobakhidze said.

The government is hoping to draw billions in investment in Georgia's priority multifaceted transit function that connects Asia and Europe, he said.

"Our ambitious plans cannot be implemented without keeping peace and stability in the country," Kobakhidze said.

Speaking of Georgia's foreign political priorities, he said that Georgia would continue moving along the European integration path and would be ready to join the EU by 2030.

"Our chief priority for today is to reset relations with the United States and the European Union, which we recently had certain problems with," Kobakhidze said, adding that the deepening of political and economic relations with China will be another priority.

"We will have a pragmatic policy for Russia, without which a peaceful settlement of the conflict and restoration of Georgia's territorial integrity would be impossible," he said.