Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), praised the progress in the economic growth of Georgia after she met with Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze in Washington on September 20, a statement from the IMF said.

"Prime Minister Bakhtadze and I discussed the good progress under Georgia’s economic reform program supported by the IMF’s $285 million Extended Fund Facility," the statement quoted Lagarde as saying.

"The Georgian economy is showing strong signs of recovery, supported by prudent macroeconomic policies," the IMF chief stated.

"We also discussed the importance of advancing Georgia’s ambitious reform agenda to support investment, education, and competitiveness, with the ultimate goal of achieving sustainable and inclusive growth, which will benefit all Georgians," Lagarde said. "I reiterated the Fund’s commitment to support Georgia and its people."

The Georgian parliament’s members approved 36-year-old Bakhtadze for the post of the country’s prime minister on June 20.