06
December
2013
One or two years ago, a Lavazza’s take-away coffee shop opened on the side of Georgia’s east-west highway in the area of Zestaponi. You always could find plenty of coffee shops in Tbilisi, but it was a novelty to have them next to the highway. Soon afterward, another coffee bar opened along the road, and surprisingly, it was again set up close to Zestaponi.
03
December
2013
On November 28, ISET hosted a seminar delivered by two experts working for E-control Austria – Eszter Suele (Resident Twinning Advisor) and Leo Kammerdiener (Senior Tariff and Regulatory Expert). E-control Austria is collaborating with the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC) under a “Twinning Project” to improve the Georgian electricity regulation that promotes long-term investments and helps establish methods of tariff calculation in line with European Union standards and best practices, namely incentive-based tariff regulations.
27
November
2013
As I do every year since I arrived in Georgia back in 2009, this November I attended the Tbilisi International Fair for Agro, Food and Drink Products, Packaging, and Processing. This fair, although very small for international standards (some 60 stands) is actually one of the most important trade exhibitions in the country, and the only significant one with a focus on agriculture and food sectors.
25
November
2013
There are many possibilities for how to increase the productivity of the Georgian agricultural sector. Experts suggest upgrading knowledge and technologies, promoting collaboration among farmers, and coping with the land fragmentation problem, to name just a few of the ideas circulating in the debate.
18
November
2013
On November 13, 2013, ISET hosted a presentation of the preliminary results of “Support in Economic Policy Analysis Using CGE Modeling in Georgia,” an ISET Policy Institute project that started in December 2012 with the financial and technical support of GIZ’s Private Sector Development Program South Caucasus.
