20
February
2016
Sometimes, transformation requires a crisis. Economists in particular are very well aware of this maxim. We are reminded of it every time a country undergoes an economic shock. A country in those times is a bit like a patient who gets the last warning from a doctor to drop the unhealthy habits or face irreversible consequences.
19
February
2016
The Investor Council (IC), coordinated by the EBRD, has been established in 2015 to provide a dialog platform between Georgia’s major business associations and government. Co-chaired by Georgia’s PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili and EBRD Director for the South Caucasus, Belarus, and Moldova, Bruno Balvanera, IC’s February 17 meeting focused on three key issues.
15
February
2016
With the New Year festivities finally behind us, ISET’s Khachapuri Index started on its seasonal downhill trajectory. In January, the Index slid 4.3% m/m, reaching 3.61 GEL per one standard portion of the Imeretian khachapuri. At the same time, it is some 6% higher y/y (compared to January 2015).
09
February
2016
On February 8, 2016, ISET hosted a workshop on Private Sector-led Agricultural Extension in Georgia. Organized by ISET in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, this workshop brought together chief executives of selected Georgian agribusinesses as well as representatives of the donor community, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Education and Science to discuss the possibilities for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for developing effective agricultural extension services in the country.
08
February
2016
There is a lot of affinity among Estonia and Georgia, two tiny nations for centuries caught between the Russian rock and the German or Ottoman/Persian hard place. Common fate may be, indeed, the reason for Georgia’s topping the list of Estonian development cooperation priorities. Georgia is the largest recipient of Estonia’s bilateral aid, most of which is about sharing the Estonian experience of establishing itself as a new European democracy and a unique place to do business.