TBILISI, DFWatch – “Going by macro-economic parameters, Georgia is one of the healthiest countries in the world,” Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri said Friday at a debate in parliament.

The debate was held at the request of the Christian Democrats regarding the government’s ’10 point plan’.

According to Gilauri, economic growth rates are directly dependent on macro-economic parameters, and so the first point in this plan is connected to this issue.

“Macro-economic indicators are important to create jobs in the country. Let’s take Greece as an example; or the other countries which have entered into a crisis – what’s happening there? Jobs are being lost there. The countries cannot handle their obligations. They cannot repay the pensions; cannot repay ordinary salaries; the economy is crashed down; the private sector is crashed down and as a result we have seen very difficult situation in Greece; because macro-economic parameters were not right and healthy,” Gilauri said.

Georgia is in the best situation in the world, according to him.

“We are the only one economy this year, which has increased its [growth] prognosis from 5.5% to 6%; but I’m telling you now that it’s a pessimistic prognosis and there will be higher growth; because we have 6.5% ten-month growth and accordingly it will be higher. Next year we’ll have 5% growth in the economy and the [International Monetary Fund] agrees with us, despite the world problems.”

“The budget deficit was 3.6% in 2011. In 2009 it was 9.2% and we significantly decreased it and we are the only country, which has managed this.”

“Foreign debt is 32% and it is decreasing. This is alarming, and I want to remind you that EU’s foreign debt compared to GDP is 80%. In Georgia it is 32%, and this is the peak and it is now beginning to decrease. In the case of Georgia there is a very low rate of interest on the entire foreign debt, 2.2% on average, while in other countries it’s much higher, 6-7%.”

“As for the bank sector, we have record high deposits and record-high credit portfolio. International reserves of the National Bank are record-high and the inflation is 2.5%,” Nika Gilauri stated and added that these parameters indicate that because ot the macro-economic parameters, Georgia is one of the healthiest countries in the world.