Georgian PM: Europe is struggling to stay warm this winter, yet we have doubled economic growth

Prime Minister of Georgia on economic growth

“While Europe is thinking about how to keep its citizens warm, economic growth in Georgia is measured in double digits,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on September 30 at a government meeting.

“Russian gas is no longer supplied to Europe. Europe is gradually abandoning it, and Russia has turned off the gas supply to Europe. That is why the situation there is so difficult,” Garibashvili said.

Georgia “against such a dramatic background has managed not only managed to maintain peace in the country, but also to ensure double-digit economic growth. Almost 60,000 new jobs have been created in the private business sector, and more than 20,000 new jobs have been created by the state,” the prime minister said.

“We need unity within society, calmness, less emotion,” Garibashvili said.

He proposed a 20% increase in the salaries of security personnel, police officers and military personnel, on which 290 million lari [about $100 million] would be spent.

He mentioned that the salary of all civil servants increased by 10% in January, and said another increase is expected in January 2023.

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For eight months now Ukraine has been fending off Russia’s brutal aggression, and Russia has been under harsh Western sanctions. Europe has partially abandoned Russian energy carriers. The aggressor threatens to completely cut off supplies of electricity and gas to the West.

Russian media paint an apocalyptic picture of the harsh winter that awaits Europe.

On September 27, a leak occurred on Russian gas pipelines passing through the Baltic Sea. The cause of the accident is still unknown. According to Reuters, the leak occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, located close to each other in the economic zone of Sweden and Denmark near the island of Bjørnholm.

According to the Swedish Energy Ministry, it is very likely that the attack on the pipelines was deliberately carried out by Russia. According to CNN, Russian Navy ships were spotted near the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines where the leak occurred.

But the head of Russian foreign intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin, claims that the West is behind the “terrorist acts” on the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

Prime Minister of Georgia on economic growth