The Forum took place on 29 November 2016 in the framework of the EU-funded European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) in order to discuss some the key challenges Georgia’s agricultural cooperatives face with regard to access to finance. Please see the conference programme and presentations (listed below).

On 29 November 2016, in the framework of the EU-funded European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD), an Interagency Forum on “Access to Finance for Cooperatives” took place at the Hotels & Preference Hualing Tbilisi. The purpose of the forum was to discuss challenges and opportunities that cooperatives face with regard to access to finance.

The project aims to estimate the impact of foreign students on Georgia’s economy. Since 2013, ICMPD has been carrying out the EU-funded project “Enhancing Georgia's Migration Management” (ENIGMMA). The project assists the Georgian government in managing and improving the conditions for migrants in Georgia.

Facilitating cooperation among Georgia’s smallholders is one of the main focuses of the ENPARD project, of which ISET is a (small) part. ENPARD has been active in Georgia since 2013, and its work has been extensive and its efforts invaluable. An evaluation effort coordinated by the ISET Policy Institute has uncovered some interesting facts and figures from the comparative analysis between 2014 and 2015.

Forecasters, professionals and amateurs alike, all got it wrong. The Brexit came as a surprise because the bookmakers (people who organize bets on developments in politics, economics, and sports) reported that about three times more money was put on the event that Britain would stay in the EU than on its alternative. With poll results being inconclusive in the weeks before the referendum, this led many pundits to believe that Britain would stay in the EU.