Georgia's Finance Minister, deputy Prime Minister resigns

Georgian Finance Minister and deputy Prime Minister Ivane Matchavariani has announced on social media his resignation.

"I have to say that after almost three years of working as the Minister of Finance, I was planning to resign at the end of last year, but due to the 2021 crisis budget approval procedure and important negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, I decided to wait for several months... It was an honour and at the same time a great responsibility to work with the Georgian Dream political team, with government leaders, with my colleagues in the Cabinet of Ministers, with members of parliament," Matchavariani wrote on his Facebook page.

Matchavariani said that the Ministry of Finance had successfully completed negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on the Extended Fund Facility programme and said that once the fund concludes the eighth review Georgia will receive additional financial resources, Agenda.ge reported.

"Georgia is one of the first countries to receive significant support from partners (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, EU) shortly after the start of the global pandemic. I am especially proud that I had the opportunity to take an active part in these negotiations," he added.

Matchavariani has been the Minister of Finance of Georgia since July 2018.