The ISET-PI team participated in the Economic Research Mentoring Program (ERMP), organized by the China-Russia Eurasian Studies Centre (CREC). One of the ISET Policy Institute’s research proposals has been selected for the final round of the ERMP research competition.

Since the Uruguay Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which introduced agriculture to the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) negotiation table, there has been increasing policy interest and academic debate on food safety regulations and their effect on the agri-food trade. During the Uruguay Round, WTO members negotiated the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPSs) in the “SPS Agreement” and the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreements, which share common principles and rules with all member countries (Mayeda, 2004).

Director of ISET Dr. Tamar Sulukhia, accompanied by Dr. Phatima Mamardashvili (APRC) and Dr. Yaroslava Babych (MPRC), took part in the 4th CAREC Think Tanks Development Forum – entitled “Trading for Shared Prosperity” – in Xi’an, Shanxi Province, People’s Republic of China.

On 18 April 2016 ISET hosted Dr. Donghyun Park, a principal economist with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), who presented his team’s research: the Impact of China’s Slowdown on the World Economy. The talk was attended by ISET students and faculty, as well as representatives of Georgia’s leading businesses and business associations.

According to the most recent rapid estimates of economic growth by GeoStat, in November 2015 the Georgian economy increased by 5.3% compared to the same month the year before. The 5.3% increase represents the highest growth rate in nearly 15 months. This optimistic outcome should, however, be treated with a degree of caution.