Governor of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) Natia Turnava participated in the “Governor Talks” panel organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following an invitation from Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department.

Held as part of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, the discussion aimed to share successful experience in economic policy. Each year, selected central bank governors from five global regions participate. Directors of the IMF’s regional departments moderate sessions. This year, “Governor Talks” featured central bank governors from five countries: Georgia, France, South Korea, Venezuela, and Rwanda.

The session featuring the NBG Governor, entitled “The Role of Central Banks in a Changing World – Perspectives from the National Bank of Georgia,” was moderated by Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department.

A key focus of the meeting was how central banks manage monetary policy and anchor inflation expectations despite a series of severe external shocks that have driven up inflation across most economies.

According to Natia Turnava, maintaining credibility is the primary challenge during such periods. Consequently, curbing inflation expectations in an uncertain environment requires highly credible and decisive policy measures.

“In this regard, Georgia indeed demonstrates very positive indicators. Throughout this period, despite considerable external challenges, we succeeded in anchoring inflation expectations and bolstering our resilience. Over the past three to four years, inflation was kept consistently below target, averaging 2.5% between 2023 and 2025, comfortably beneath our 3% benchmark. Even now, as we experience the impact of an external energy shock, the Middle East conflict, and associated fuel price rises—which immediately feed into our economy as a net energy importer—headline inflation exceeded the target, reaching 5.6%. However, key informative indicators such as core inflation and services inflation remain close to the target at 3.5% and 3.7%, respectively, demonstrating that inflation expectations remain firmly anchored,” Natia Turnava noted.

According to the NBG Governor, Georgia maintains high economic growth alongside low inflation, which she described as a strong, unique, and advantageous combination.

Natia Turnava stated that high-productivity industries that do not generate inflationary pressure from domestic demand predominantly drive growth.

“Consequently, we can afford to be more proactive. That is why we chose a forward-looking, cautious, and prepared stance. This was also the case during the COVID pandemic, when the National Bank of Georgia was among the first to react swiftly and tighten its monetary policy rate. Later, we were again among the first to begin easing once the shocks began to subside. Even during periods of low inflation, we maintained the policy rate above neutral due to the escalation of new geopolitical conflicts in our region. When the Middle East conflict broke out, we were well prepared, yet we again took a forward-looking approach, increasing the monetary policy rate by 0.25% in May 2026, which sent a very strong signal to financial markets,” Natia Turnava noted.

She further explained that the objective behind these decisions was to maintain stable inflation expectations and prevent second-round effects to the maximum extent possible.

“The effectiveness of this approach is confirmed by sticky price inflation indicators, which remain close to the target,” stated the Central Bank Governor.

During the session, Natia Turnava also highlighted the importance of central bank independence and a robust governance framework. In her assessment, institutional independence extends beyond mere legislative guarantees; it requires making timely, credible decisions within one’s mandate to fulfil core objectives. The NBG Governor also highlighted the value of ongoing cooperation with the IMF, noting that this partnership helped identify ways to reinforce governance and drive significant institutional reform.

Dedollarisation formed another key topic of discussion. Natia Turnava stated that maintaining macroeconomic stability and strengthening trust in the national currency are decisive for sustained progress in dedollarisation. As a result of consistent policy implemented by the NBG against a backdrop of macroeconomic stability, deposit and loan dollarisation declined by approximately 25–30 percentage points over the past decade.

At the conclusion of the session, Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, congratulated the NBG Governor and her team on the results achieved in recent years.

“I would like to congratulate you and your team for managing to ensure macroeconomic stability over the past few years despite operating in one of the most challenging environments,” Jihad Azour noted.

In his assessment, the NBG’s accumulation of economic buffers serves as a vital prerequisite for resilience against external shocks. He also highlighted Georgia’s progress in modernising the financial sector, advancing financial technology, and implementing financial innovations.

Jihad Azour positively evaluated Georgia’s economic performance, which he stated surpassed all forecasts. He further noted the Central Bank’s capacity to navigate various shocks, commending the monetary policy decisions taken by the institution.