A formal assembly of top-notch ministers, central bank donors and world fintech experts kicked off the Tbilisi Financial Summit, which brought the finance and tech elites to Tbilisi this week.
Minister of Finance Lasha Khutsishvili. The event was attended by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili, President of the National Bank of Georgia Natia Turnava, Sopnendu Mohanty. Executive Director of the Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN) Group based in Singapore, Deputy Minister of Finance and Head of the Revenue Service Mamuka Baratashvili.
The summit is organized by the National Bank of Georgia, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, and GFTN, which is an international organization of business innovators, financial institutions, and fintech executives. The summit will unite companies from the finance and technology sectors that believe in the power of innovations to transform money, trade, and investment flows.
The theme of the event this year will focus on regional economic pathways with its intersections; among politics, finances, and technologies. The reason behind this is the location of Georgia which has a perfect position where it is located between Europe and Asia. Georgia has been trying to promote the state as a transit corridor for years; thus, the objective of the summit is to showcase that regional connectivity depends on not only highways, railroads, and ports. The development of infrastructure also influences financial systems, digitalization and political stability in the region.
The fact that the prime minister and a number of other cabinet members attended the opening ceremony is a very clear indication of the government’s seriousness about the occasion. Notably, the presence of senior officials of the cabinet in all the departments of finance, economy, and revenues as well as the chairman of the central bank indicates how the government views the importance of financial innovations and development.
The GFTN has a globally connected element as a key component.
The network’s objective is to integrate public sector organisations with private firms and new tech developers and having its leaders in person shows Georgia can play an important part in conversations about digital finance and cross-border collaboration. The event affords local players the opportunity to converse with people in other markets and learn about how payments, regulations and new technologies are processed across regions. Tenkmier writes about the event, which organizers called a forum for lively discussions among people in the financial world, including bank leaders, regulators, government officials, startups and big companies.
They will discuss working together and discussing how to fight challenges from fast-moving technologies, including regulation, security, and access to money and financial services. As for what happened next on the agenda, the participants will take to the next stage the challenges it raises related to what’s new technology, how it can assist trade, improve the way people use money, and link local economies. It isn’t clear whether the talks will result in actual actions but the experience proved that Georgia wants to take part in economic initiatives alongside its neighbors.
