At a joint meeting of the Education, Science and Youth Affairs, and the Culture Committees, members heard the three-month review of the execution of Georgia’s 2026 State Budget, presented by the Finance Ministry.

The report was delivered by the First Deputy Finance Minister, Giorgi Kakauridze, who spoke about the key macroeconomic parameters for January–March 2026.

According to him, the average real economic growth in the first quarter amounted to 9.1%. Real GDP growth was 7.9% in January, 8.8% in February, and 10.7% in March. As of March 2026, annual inflation stood at 4.3%, while the average annual inflation rate was 4.4%.

Giorgi Kakauridze also focused on foreign trade and tourism. As he noted, in January–March 2026, Georgia’s external trade turnover in goods amounted to USD 5.867 billion, of which exports accounted for USD 1.723 billion and imports for USD 4.143 billion. He further stated that in the first quarter of 2026, the European Union was Georgia’s largest trading partner, accounting for 21.4% of total trade turnover.

With regard to tourism, he reported that in the first quarter of 2026, the number of tourist visits exceeded 997,000, representing a 4% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Revenue from tourism amounted to USD 829 million.

Giorgi Kakauridze also addressed the performance of consolidated and state budget revenues for January–March 2026.

Particular attention was paid to the execution of state budget appropriations by spending agencies. According to him, as of the first three months of 2026, the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth had utilized up to GEL 625 million, with an execution rate of 92%, while the Ministry of Culture had utilized GEL 68.7 million, with an execution rate of 77%.

The Committees took note of the report.