On 26 March, the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Masatsugu Asakawa and Georgia’s Minister of Finance Ivane Matchavariani discussed ways to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country. 

“The ADB is fully committed to supporting Georgia at this unprecedented time and we are considering every option to ensure support is provided quickly and effectively. We [are] ready to work with the government and key partners on countercyclical support that will enable it to meet the needs of the people most affected. Significant efforts are also underway to ensure that we can provide further support to the private sector,” stated Asakawa.

Asakawa added that Georgia has been a leading reformer and this has positioned the country well to deliver its response to the pandemic, including through tax concessions to the hard-hit tourism industry, capital expenditures to provide economic stimulus, and expanding access to funding for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and private individuals and that these measures would ensure a  quicker recovery from the pandemic’s effects on the country. 

A week earlier, the ADB announced a $6.5 billion initial package to address the immediate needs of its members classed as ‘developing countries’ to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. The initial package includes approximately $3.6 billion in sovereign operations for a range of responses to the health and economic consequences of the pandemic, and $1.6 billion in nonsovereign operations for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, domestic and regional trade, and firms directly impacted. ADB will also mobilize about $1 billion in concessional resources through reallocations from ongoing projects and assessing possible needs for contingencies. ADB will make $40 million available in the form of technical assistance and quick-disbursing grants.

The ADB has partnered with Georgia since 2007 and is one of the country’s largest multilateral development partners. Over $2.8 billion has been approved for Georgia’s development since 2007. This includes $1.4 billion from regular ordinary capital resources (OCR), $902 million from concessional OCR, $455 million in non-sovereign lending, $17 million in technical assistance, and trade finance.