Kobakhidze: Hate campaigns in Georgia are externally funded and will be legally opposed

Earlier, Nika Gvaramia wrote on social media: "Not a single step back! Our homeland is behind us! The oligarchy must fall! Glory to Georgia!".During the trial, the prosecutor's office requested that the preventive measure imposed on Nika Gvaramia, the 30,000-GEL bail, be replaced with imprisonment. The judge granted the prosecutor's request and replaced Gvaramia's bail imposed as a preventive measure with imprisonment.The accused politician did not pay the bail imposed on him within the period established by law.Nika Gvaramia was summoned to give an explanation before the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Parliament of Georgia, where he did not appear. In this regard, he has been charged under Article 349 of the Criminal Code, which refers to "failure to comply with the request of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Parliament of Georgia", which is punishable by a fine, or imprisonment for a term of up to one year, or deprivation of the right to hold a position or engage in activity for a term of up to three years.Nika Gvaramia was granted bail of 30,000 GEL as a preventive measure, which was set at 50 days. The aforementioned period expired on June 7.Several other politicians have been arrested on charges of failing to appear at the Tsulukiani Commission. Among them: former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, Nika Melia, co-founder of the Akhali party and leader of the Girchi More Freedom party Zura Japaridze.Criminal cases have also been opened against other politicians for failing to appear at the Tsulukiani Commission, who chose to pay bail rather than imprisonment. These are: Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze - 50,000 GEL each, Givi Targamadze - 10,000 GEL, and Giorgi Vashadze - 50,000 GEL.

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The value of export increased by 14.6 percent reaching USD 2 595.3 million, while the import increased by 12.8 percent and amounted to USD 7,19 billion.The trade deficit equaled USD 4,6 bln and its share in trade turnover constituted 47%.

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In 2024, the number of events held in the country amounted to 4.8 thousand, of which the number of offsite events amounted to 177. The number of events held abroad amounted to 136.The number of performances in 2024 decreased by 3.5 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to 4 518. Approximately two-thirds (69.4 percent) of the performances were held in Tbilisi.In 2024, the total number of attendants decreased by 17.6 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to 636.1 thousand. Two-thirds of attendants (66.2 percent) come to Tbilisi, with Imereti in second place (10.3 percent).In 2024, 261 museums and museum reserves were operated in Georgia, of which 104 were memorial, 74 - history (regional studies), 23 - arts, 13 - museum-reserve, 2 – literature studies, and 45 – other types of museums.In 2024, most museums were operated in Tbilisi (22.6%), followed by Imereti (15.3%) and Kakheti (14.2%).In 2024, the number of visitors in museums decreased by 7.8 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to 1.9 million. Average number of visitors per museum equaled to 7.3 thousand persons.In 2024, the number of excursions in museums decreased by 3.0 percent and amounted to 45.0 thousand, the number of exhibitions increased by 2.5 percent and amounted to 939.

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In her address to Parliament, Turnava outlined the NBG’s strategic priorities during the reporting period, emphasizing the Bank’s core mandate: maintaining price stability as a foundation for long-term economic growth. Georgia has followed an inflation-targeting regime since 2018, with a target rate of 3%.“In 2024, inflation remained low and stable, averaging 1.1%, while core inflation—excluding food, energy, and tobacco—stood at 1.6%,” said Turnava. “This low inflation environment was largely driven by domestic factors and effective monetary policy. The stable effective exchange rate of the lari also contributed significantly.”Turnava noted that the NBG reduced the refinancing rate by 1.5 percentage points to 8% in the first half of 2024. However, due to rising global risks in the second half, the Bank adopted a cautious stance, keeping the policy rate unchanged.“This policy supported a resurgence in credit activity, boosting aggregate demand. With rising domestic demand and improved productive capacity, Georgia experienced real GDP growth of 9.4% in 2024,” she said, adding that external demand also contributed positively.International Reserves & FX Market Management The President of the National Bank emphasized the importance of international reserves in maintaining macroeconomic stability. As of December 2024, Georgia’s reserves stood at $4.4 billion.She explained that while favorable conditions in early 2024 allowed the NBG to replenish reserves via FX interventions, the second half of the year saw market volatility and speculative pressures, prompting the NBG to intervene by supplying USD liquidity to stabilize expectations.“Despite short-term pressure, we resumed reserve accumulation by year-end. Total net FX sales in 2024 amounted to $434.75 million. As of May 2025, official reserve assets reached $4.6 billion, fully offsetting last year’s net sales,” Turnava stated.Turnava also addressed the ongoing challenge of financial dollarization, noting progress made due to structural reforms implemented by the NBG.“Loan dollarization decreased to 43.3% from 55.4% in 2019, and deposit dollarization fell to 52.2%, down from 64%. However, dollarization remains a key risk,” she noted. “To address this, we continued implementing our long-term de-dollarization plan, including further reductions in limits on unhedged FX loans, which will be capped at GEL 500,000.”

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As of 01.05.2025, non-performing mortgages in the GEL portfolio amounted to 112 million GEL (L/m -109.4 million). In EUR, it exceeds the equivalent of 37 million GEL (L/m - 35.7 million).At the same time, the problem ratio is still at a low 1.4% in GEL. In USD, it exceeds 2% (1.9%). In EUR, it exceeds - 2.3%.Of the 195 million GEL of overdue mortgages, the USD portfolio accounts for the equivalent of 46.2 million GEL, which is 1.5% less than the previous month and 2.7% less than the previous year (L/m – 45.9 million), 01.05.2024 – 47.5 million).According to the interactive statistics of the Bank of Georgia, as of May (01.05.2025), there are 12.3 billion GEL of mortgage loans in the banks' portfolio. Of which 66.66% are denominated in GEL (L/Y – 62.1%)

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Chatbots and Virtual Assistants; Improving Customer Experience; Personalized Financial Advice; Private Banking; Financial Fraud Detection and Prevention; Credit Assessment. And one each in the nomination “Best Bank in Retail”In corporate and investment services, Bank of Georgia received 4 awards, in the nominations:• Best, Corporate in the Country and Region (Central and Eastern Europe);• Award in the Fintech subcategory, as well as at the country and regional levels.“The use of artificial intelligence is our strategic direction. Through technology, we create a simple, fast and personalized experience for both retail and business customers. These awards are a testament to the tireless work of our team, constant pursuit of innovation and customer-centric approach,” said Mikheil Nadareishvili, Head of the Data Analytics Department at the Bank of Georgia.

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According to the report, the global market rally had the most significant effect on the dynamic portfolio, which saw a monthly return of 2.42%. In comparison, the balanced and conservative portfolios yielded 1.84% and 1.25%, respectively.Portfolio Breakdown by International Equity Allocation: Dynamic Portfolio – 47.9% Balanced Portfolio – 30.3% Conservative Portfolio – 16.3% Since the launch of the dynamic portfolio on August 6, 2023, its annualized return has reached 13%. Over the same period, the balanced and conservative portfolios have posted nominal returns of 12.3% and 11.4%, respectively.As of the end of May 2025, the total assets of the Pension Fund of Georgia amounted to GEL 6.9 billion, with GEL 1.7 billion generated in investment returns.Let me know if you'd like a shorter version for headlines or social media posts.

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The report also notes that 2024’s output surpassed Georgia’s five-year production average by 20%, marking the highest annual wine production since the beginning of the 21st century. The OIV attributes this growth primarily to favorable weather conditions in Georgia’s major wine-producing regions.Vineyard Expansion and Consumption Trends.Georgia had 48,700 hectares of vineyards in 2024, reflecting a modest annual increase of 0.4% and ranking the country 26th globally in vineyard area.Domestic wine consumption also surged by 27%, reaching 119.9 million liters, placing Georgia 29th in the world for wine consumption. The OIV estimates that Georgians aged 15 and older consumed an average of 39.9 liters of wine per person annually, accounting for 0.6% of global wine consumption.While Georgia’s production and consumption rose, global wine consumption declined by 3.3%, dropping to 214 million hectoliters, the lowest level since 1961.Despite domestic success, Georgian wine exports sharply declined in early 2025. According to Geostat, from January to April 2025, Georgia exported 23,946 tons of wine worth $72 million, a 45% decrease from the same period in 2024 ($126.9 million/45,197 tons).Russia, Georgia’s largest export market, saw the most significant drop. Exports to Russia fell by 59.3%, from $99.55 million to $40.45 million.Top 5 Export Markets for Georgian Wine (Jan–Apr 2025): Russia – $40.45 million (14,404 tons) Poland – $6.17 million (2,578 tons) Ukraine – $3.65 million (1,318 tons) China – $3.52 million (1,124 tons) Kazakhstan – $3.67 million (1,063 tons)

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