According to the Minister, completely new textbooks will be published in humanitarian and STEM subjects at all levels by September 15, 2028. According to the Ministry's decision, one and the same textbook will be used in the same level and subject, both in public and private schools. As a result of the ongoing work, first-graders, 7th and 10th graders will already have new books by the start of the new academic year.According to the new concept, visuals carrying national values ​​will be placed on the covers of textbooks. In particular, the cover of the chemistry textbook will depict the traditional winemaking process, and its chemical description on the back cover. The physics textbook will include Elguja Medzmariashvili's invention - the launch of the first Georgian satellite into space. In addition, the books include more than 500 new illustrations that concern Georgian architectural monuments.In addition, the Ministry is starting to introduce the culture of wearing uniforms in schools, which will be extended to grades one through six this year, and then one grade will be added each year. The provision of uniforms will be carried out in three stages: on September 15, all first-graders will come to school in new uniforms decorated with the state emblem, and during the first semester, all students from grades one through six will be provided with uniforms.As a result of market research and a tender, an agreement was signed with the number one manufacturer of school uniforms in China after the first identified company failed to submit complete documentation. According to the Minister, the price of uniforms will be several times cheaper than uniforms of private schools, and all families that are rated by the Ministry of Health with 65,000 or less rating points and have a primary school student will receive uniforms completely free of charge.The first samples presented by the company have passed international quality testing and will also be tested in Georgia. According to the Minister, the polyester in the fabric is mixed with natural materials, which increases durability, and all jackets, trousers and skirts have anti-allergic lining. The models fully comply with international standards, and sales points will be opened in regions and cities in advance.

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In May-26, primary market demand remained broadly flat. Notably, the number of apartments sold increased slightly, while sold area declined, reflecting a decrease in the average size of apartments sold in May. Sales on the secondary market increased significantly and reached the fifthhighest level after 2023. On the supply side, the living area of issued permits declined for the 8th consecutive month. Primary market price continued to increase at a moderate pace, while secondary market price recorded a slight decline, indicating partial stabilization after April’s sharp increase.DemandIn May-26, total number of sold apartments in Tbilisi, according to the Public Registry data, stood at 3,748 units, of which:• Sales on the secondary market increased significantly by 12.4% y/y to 1,924 (up 14.7% y/y in 5M26) partly reflecting the low base of last year.• Sales on the primary market, where data are impacted by delayed registrations, were up 9.7% y/y to 1,824 (up 12.9% y/y in 5M26).• Our real-time survey of developers, which captures current trends on the primary market, showed that number of apartments sold on the primary market was up 2.5% y/y, while sold area declined, reflecting a decrease in average apartment size in May.Cumulatively, the number of apartments sold on the primary market was up 22.1% y/y in 5M26. In total, 18,296 transactions were registered in Tbilisi in 5M26, bringing the residential market value to US$ 1.6bn (+21.9% y/y).SupplyIn May-26, construction permits were issued for 23 residential projects, with total living area of 165,484 sq.m (-18.4% y/y). Notably, the living area of issued permits has contracted annually for the 8th consecutive month, signalling a normalization after previously elevated levels. Overall, living area of permits in 5M26 was down 34.4% y/y.PricesIn May-26, primary market price increased moderately, up 0.3% m/m to US$ 1,412 per sq.m. The average price on the secondary market (for new buildings built with permits issued from 2013) was down 0.3% m/m, reaching US$ 1,366 per sq.m, indicating partial stabilization after a sharp 5.0% increase in April.RentsIn May-26, price for renting an average (50-60 sq.m) apartment in Tbilisi was at US$ 9.9 per sq.m (-0.2% m/m), keeping rental yield high at 8.4%.

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Balance of goods remains the main driver of the current account balance. Relative to GDP, it improved by 3.4 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2025. Trade in goods deficit decreased by 1.8 percent year-on-year, amounting to USD 1.7 billion (GEL 4.6 billion) in the first quarter of 2026. Export of goods increased by 23.8 percent and import by 11.4 percent.The current account balance is negatively affected by the trade in goods and primary income, while trade in services and current transfers contribute positively.In the first quarter of 2026 the services surplus rose by 9.8 percent, or USD 77.9 million, compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching USD 876.1 million. Total export of services increased by 7.2 percent year-on-year, reaching USD 1.8 billion (GEL 4.8 billion) in the first quarter of 2026. The travel services exports amounted to USD 829.8 million (GEL 2.2 billion) representing an annual increase of 0.5 percent. Particularly noteworthy was the growth in exports of computer and information services by 65.7 percent year-on-year to USD 441.3 million, equivalent to 4.8 percent of GDP. Transport services exports remained an important component of Georgia's services exports reaching USD 333.4 million, or 3.6 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2026.Net income account totaled USD -423.2 million (GEL -1.1 billion) in the first quarter of 2026. Net compensation of employees, the positive component of income account increased by 45.8 percent year-on-year while net investment income - the negative component declined by 12.0 percent over the same period.The current transfers account remained in surplus in the first quarter of 2026. Credits of current transfers increased by 7.1 percent year-on-year, reaching USD 937.1 million (GEL 2.5 billion). Net transfers of the private sector also continued to grow, rising by 8.5 percent to USD 884.4 million (GEL 2.4 billion).The current account deficit is predominantly financed by foreign direct investment. Net foreign direct investment amounted to USD 160.9 million (GEL 434.2 million) in the reporting period, accounting for 1.8 percent of GDP.

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Public sector external debt amounted to 11.6 billion USD (31.3 billion GEL) or 29.4 percent of GDP, out of which, debt of the general government amounted to 9.1 billion USD (24.6 billion GEL) or 23.1 percent of GDP. External liabilities of the National Bank of Georgia amounted to 772.8 million USD (2.1 billion GEL) or 2.0 percent of GDP, and the bonds and loans of public enterprises were correspondingly 481.8 million USD (1.3 billion GEL) or 1.2 percent of GDP and 1.2 billion USD (3.4 billion GEL) and 3.2 percent of GDP.Banking sector external debt amounted to 9.8 billion USD (26.5 billion GEL) or 24.8 percent of GDP; Other sectors’ external debt stood at 5.0 billion USD (13.4 billion GEL) or 12.6 percent of GDP; While 2.5 billion USD (6.6 billion GEL) or 6.2 percent of GDP was the intercompany lending. 85.6 percent of the gross external debt of Georgia was denominated in a foreign currency.The net external debt of Georgia amounted to 12.5 billion USD (33.8 billion GEL) or 31.8 percent of the last four quarters’ GDP. Net public sector external debt was 5.3 billion USD (14.3 billion GEL) or 13.4 percent of GDP.External debt of the National Bank of Georgia decreased by 8.1 million USD, out of that, exchange rate changes decreased the debt by 7.5 million USD and transactions lead to its decrease by 617.6 thousand USD. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, Special Drawing Rights (SDR) accounted for USD 470.8 million of the National Bank of Georgia's external liabilities. Since SDRs have no maturity date, there is no obligation to repay them as long as Georgia remains a member of the IMF.

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According to the rating agency’s assessment, strong economic indicators reduce the risks associated with domestic and geopolitical challenges, providing the basis for the improved outlook. Moody’s also highlights that cooperation with international financial institutions supports the high effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies.“We expect Georgia’s economic growth to remain strong, supported by broad-based economic activity, domestic consumption, and investment. Robust economic growth and prudent government debt management will continue to strengthen the country’s fiscal resilience. Georgia’s strategic location and its role as the Middle Corridor will facilitate the attraction of investment flows from both the region and other countries. These strengths are further bolstered by the high effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies”, - Moody’s writes.Moody’s notes that the National Bank of Georgia has already implemented a number of recommendations issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).“In the area of monetary policy, several measures recommended by the International Monetary Fund have already been implemented. These include steps toward ensuring a majority of non-executive members on the Board of the National Bank, restricting discretionary financial transfers to the government, and making changes to the organizational structure. In addition, the National Bank of Georgia is currently working on developing a legal framework that envisages the introduction of a collegial decision-making model and strengthening the qualifications of Board members, in line with the International Monetary Fund’s recommendations”, - the Moody’s Ratings report states.According to Moody’s assessment, Georgia’s strong economic growth, fiscal discipline, and declining government debt further strengthen the country’s creditworthiness. The agency has raised its economic growth forecast to 6.4%.

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Visa today outlined a series of AI, stablecoin, and token capabilities designed to help clients across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) region participate in the next generation of commerce. Ahead of the Visa Payments Forum, taking place in Paris on July 1, Visa shared how two foundational shifts — artificial intelligence and stablecoins — are transforming the front-end and back-end of commerce and money movement, and how Visa is enabling clients to adapt, scale and build trusted new experiences.“Commerce is entering a new phase that is increasingly intelligent, programmable, and embedded into everyday experiences,” said Tareq Muhmood, Regional President, CEMEA, Visa. “For companies serving the digital economy the opportunity is significant, but so is the need for trust and interoperability. Visa is focused on providing the infrastructure and intelligence to innovate confidently across the front- and back-end of payments and deliver better experiences for the consumers and businesses they serve.”Powering the Front End of Commerce with AIVisa detailed how AI is reshaping how transactions are initiated, authorized, and trusted, while also accelerating how new commerce experiences are designed, developed and delivered. As AI agents increasingly act on behalf of consumers and businesses, Visa Intelligent Commerce, the company’s platform for agentic commerce, provides the trust and controls needed for AI agents to securely discover, initiate, and complete transactions.To support this shift, Visa is working across the ecosystem to help ensure agent-initiated transactions are transparent and trusted. This includes merchant enablement through the newly launched Agent Score, created with New Generation, which allows merchants to evaluate their websites for agentic commerce readiness — specifically, whether AI agents can navigate, understand and complete tasks on a merchant’s website.  Merchants also need to know which agents can be trusted to transact on their sites, and agents need confidence that they are interacting with legitimate merchants. With the launch of Agentic Directory, Visa is providing a directory that includes agents and merchants that have been verified as legitimate participants in agentic commerce.Enhancing Tokens for AI-Driven CommerceOne of the key drivers of eCommerce growth in the CEMEA region has been the growth of tokenization, bringing more secure, convenient and seamless payments to the region across eCommerce and mobile channels. In CEMEA, Visa has seen a rapid increase in tokenized transactions, growing from 26% in 2023 to 70% in 2026.Today, tokens already carry a highly secure data set purpose-built for digital payments. As commerce extends to new channels and agents, Visa is enriching the data to provide more details on the transaction type, where the token is being used and who is making the payment. A second key advancement is a token assurance signal. Token use is evaluated throughout its lifecycle — based on provisioning and behavioral history — to generate a signal of trust behind each transaction.Together, these advancements help strengthen the role of tokens as a foundation for trusted digital and AI-driven commerce, giving clients richer context and stronger assurance as transactions become more automated, embedded and intelligent.Modernizing the Back End of Money Movement with StablecoinsVisa shared progress in modernizing settlement and value transfer through stablecoins and blockchain-based infrastructure. With Tokenized Deposits, the company will build the technology layer that can allow banks to turn traditional deposits into programmable, always-on digital money. This gives banks a way to match the speed and flexibility of stablecoins while keeping funds on balance sheet.Visa is also expanding stablecoin settlement pilots across multiple regions, blockchains and currencies. Building on its first stablecoin settlement pilots in early 2025, Visa has moved billions of dollars in stablecoins across VisaNet, with an annualized run rate of approximately $7 billion as of March 2026. With issuing banks already settling seven days a week onchain with Visa, Visa is working to extend seven-day settlement to include acquirers, increasing flexibility and frequency across the entire ecosystem. Since launch of stablecoins settlement capabilities a year ago in CEMEA, settlement volumes have increased nearly 60 times.To enable consumers and businesses to spend stablecoin balances anywhere Visa is accepted, Visa continues to expand stablecoin-linked card programs. With more than 160 programs live or in development globally, adoption is expected to accelerate.Leveraging AI to Turn Insights into IntelligenceTo help clients respond to rising customer expectations, Visa is combining modern infrastructure with data-led capabilities that can support better decision-making across the payment journey. The company is introducing an AI-powered travel intelligence capability that helps banks anticipate customer travel needs before a transaction occurs. Launching today in CEMEA, Visa Trip Intelligence combines VisaNet intelligence with third-party data and can infer travel intent, generate personalized trip itineraries and provide activation-ready insights, enabling banks to deliver timely pre-travel support, reduce payment friction and offer more relevant benefits, services and experiences to customers while they travel.About VisaVisa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at visa.com.ge. 

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