After the Rose Revolution, in the name of of economic growth, the Georgian government set aside environmental issues and focused on a quick economic recovery. This is understandable, as the Georgian economy was still recovering from the collapse of the early 90’s, and the pressure to accelerate the process was high. At that time, the existing environmental regulations were perceived as an additional constraint to faster growth, and as potentially fertile ground for corruption.

Geostat has released its GDP growth estimate for the first quarter of 2017. The Q1 growth rate now stands at 5.1%, which is 1.6% above ISET-PI’s last forecasted value. Moreover, the average growth rate for the first five months of the year amounted to 4.5%.

According to the preliminary statistics released by GeoStat, Georgia’s GDP in Q1 of 2017 grew by 5.0% YoY – the highest growth rate since Q3 2014. What lies behind such spectacular growth numbers? First and foremost, it stems from the genuine improvement in the economic situation in the region, which has resulted in increased exports, FDI, tourism, and remittances. Secondly, the sharp increase in the growth rate in December 2016 “lifted” the GDP base and allowed normal GDP improvements to look even better compared to last year’s levels.

On June 15, representatives from the World Bank, UNICEF, and ISET gathered to analyze challenges and achievements in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Georgia, as a part of the Education Policy Forum. The event was opened by Ozan Sevimli (the World Bank Program Coordinator for the South Caucasus), Ms. Laila Omar Gad (UNICEF's Representative to Georgia), Eric Livny (President of ISET), and Ketevan Natriashvili (Deputy Minister of Education).

The Georgian constitution has a guarantee of gender equality in the country. Accordingly, men and women have equal rights to land ownership, and the right to inherit land is the same for both sexes. However, in Georgia, as in many developing countries, land ownership issues are very much influenced by cultural values. Georgian traditions make it less likely that land will be inherited by the daughter.