BCI in the third quarter of 2019 has deteriorated, dropping to 8.3 index points, which is 18.7 index points below the previous quarter. The largest reduction in BCI was observed in retail trade followed by the financial and construction industries. In these sectors, the decrease in BCI is driven by both decline in past performance and reduced expectations. On the contrary, agriculture is the sole industry where BCI increased.

In September 2015, United Nations member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the “Agenda”) and seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Agenda and the SDGs propose that countries achieve sustainable development in economic, social and environmental dimensions simultaneously.

The cultivation of berries is becoming increasingly popular among farmers in Georgia. The necessity of diversification in agricultural production and opportunities in the EU market have led farmers and the state to placing greater focus on the sector.

In July 2019, Georgian power plants generated 1,055 mln. kWh of electricity (Figure 1). This represents a 16.8% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (in July 2018, the total generation was 1,268 mln. kWh). The decrease in generation on a yearly basis comes from the decrease in thermal (-52%) and hydro power generation (-17%), more than offsetting the increase in wind power generation (+11%).

On July 30-31, 2019 the International School of Economics (ISET) at Tbilisi State University hosted the 2-day workshops on economic integration in Asia and Europe sponsored by the CAREC Institute and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), together with the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.