On July 1, 2015, the Stakeholders’ Forum on the Tea Sector took place in Kutaisi. This was a first event in a series of dialogues about agriculture and rural development in Georgia organized by the ISET Policy Institute in partnership with CARE International in the Caucasus, the Regional Development Association, and the Georgian Farmers Association.
ISET-PI and GET have predicted the potential for Georgia to specialize in the production of energy-intensive goods such as: Aluminum (unwrought, bars and rods, foil), Zinc (Unwrought) and Fertilizer mixtures.
The Debt Management Specialist’s initial focus was an assessment of the public debt management legal environment, institutional coordination and arrangements, public debt management initiatives and capacity, public debt portfolio composition, and macroeconomic condition in Georgia. This report provides a general overview of these fore mentioned components.
When offered the ISET director job back in March 2007, I did not think twice. Everything I’ve read about Georgia until then was incredibly positive. Livable, hospitable, beautiful, corruption-free, etc., etc. The latter part sounded particularly promising given that during my last days in Moscow (I lived and worked in Moscow from 1993 till 2007) I had my brand new BMW motorbike stolen in broad daylight by a local police officer (sic!) who knew that I am about to leave the country and probably thought that there would be no use for motorbikes on Georgia’s terrible roads.
After relatively high GDP growth in February and March, the Georgian economy slowed down considerably in April. According to Geostat’s rapid estimates, GDP grew by only 0.9% annually in the reporting month. Consequently, in the first four months of 2015, the Georgian economy expanded by 2.6%.