In a compelling retrospective, the ISET Policy Institute held a policy roundtable showcasing their recent research on 'What Georgia Could Gain from Free Trade Agreements with the USA, South Korea, and India.' The event took place on January 26, at the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel.
Assessing the progress of the SME Development reform (henceforth "SME reform") relates to the activities that have been implemented and are planned in accordance with the SME Development Strategy of Georgia 2021-2025. The strategy aims to restore positive trends that were present prior to the onset of the pandemic and to support the continued growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.
This policy brief addresses risks tied to Russian business ownership in Georgia. The concentration of this ownership in critical sectors such as electricity and communications makes Georgia vulnerable to risks of political influence, corruption, economic manipulation, espionage, sabotage, and sanctions evasion. To minimize these risks, it is recommended to establish a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening mechanism for Russia-originating investments, acknowledge the risks in national security documents, and implement a critical infrastructure reform.
On December 7, ReforMeter and the USAID Economic Governance Program hosted a second public-private dialogue dedicated to assessing progress in E-commerce reform. The reform aims to improve the legal and regulatory framework of the field of electronic commerce in terms of the protection of consumer rights, and activities of intermediary service providers, provides personal data protection and payment system and payment service directions.
ReforMeter and the USAID Economic Governance Program hosted yet another public-private dialogue –this time dedicated to assessing reform progress in small and medium enterprise development.