Featuring Kakha Bendukidze, Head of the State Chancellery, Georgia, with comments by Andrei Illarionov, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute, and Former Economic Adviser to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Moderated by Ian Vásquez, Cato Institute.
Following the Rose Revolution of 2003, the former Soviet Republic of Georgia began far-reaching reforms in governance and economic policy that are turning the country into a post-socialist success story. Georgia now ranks 44th out of 141 countries on the Economic Freedom of the World index, is cited by the World Bank as one of the world’s leading reformers, and is sustaining economic growth of more than 9 percent per year. Kakha Bendukidze, one of Georgia’s key reformers, will explain how his country is rapidly modernizing and will share his vision for continued high growth in a sometimes hostile neighborhood. Andrei Illarionov will assess Georgia’s progress and highlight its remaining challenges in consolidating democratic capitalism.