Long-term price regulation and the development of alternative networks are established practices. We will study relevant international experience, and if we consider it a good tool for regulating prices in Georgia in the long term, why not - naturally, we will resort to this measure as well, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists while commenting on price regulation.

According to him, consultations with the business sector will continue in this direction.

“The most important thing is to find ways to solve the problem together - we must do this together with the business community. We must jointly demonstrate a high level of social responsibility. Naturally, consultations will continue, first and foremost with businesses, on this issue. As for specific measures that may be adopted, it will naturally be difficult for us to impose certain regulations directly related to the number of markets. Such practices do exist in various countries, but in our case it would probably be difficult to introduce such regulations at this stage. As for long-term price regulation and the development of alternative networks, these are established practices in various sectors. We will study the relevant international experience, and if we consider it a good tool for long-term price regulation in Georgia, why not - naturally, we will resort to this measure as well,” Kobakhidze said.

At the same time, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze ruled out the possibility of so-called cartel agreements between business entities and high-ranking officials. As he noted, such agreements may have existed among business entities themselves, though even this cannot be stated definitively.

“I do not think that officials are involved here in any way. There may have been cartel agreements among business entities, which, of course, we cannot discuss in definitive terms - relevant agencies may provide information on this. But in general, high prices raise suspicion; that is the only thing I can say. What do officials have to do with this?! As for our approach to business, business is free and will remain free. We will stay in a consultation mode, and based precisely on these consultations, we hope to be able to reduce prices,” Kobakhidze said.

The Prime Minister also stated that the government’s main objective is the complete eradication of poverty.

According to him, economic growth has the primary impact on reducing poverty.

“Last year, we were once again able to maintain a high rate of economic growth. According to last year’s data, economic growth stood at 7.5%, and under such conditions, poverty naturally decreases. As you know, in 2012 the poverty rate was 30%, which meant that more than 1.1 million people were living below the poverty line. According to 2024 data, this figure has fallen to 9.4%. We are awaiting the 2025 data. We believe that, based on overall criteria, the poverty rate will be further reduced. Our main task is to completely eradicate poverty in our country, to bring it down to zero, and we believe that this will require several years, taking into account the pace of economic growth we currently have,” Irakli Kobakhidze said.