The country’s extensive mountainous regions are justly famous and a particular point of focus for travel writers and producers, but their touristic appeal is somewhat offset by the lack of development, especially when compared with the capital or other major cities. In recent years, the government has attempted to address this disparity, but a significant amount of work remains to be done.

On September 13th, over half of the staff and researchers of ISET and the ISET Policy Institute were invited to Gdansk for an annual meeting of the FREE Network, where they presented research papers and exchanged ideas with leading academics and policymakers.

Director of ISET Dr. Tamar Sulukhia, accompanied by Dr. Phatima Mamardashvili (APRC) and Dr. Yaroslava Babych (MPRC), took part in the 4th CAREC Think Tanks Development Forum – entitled “Trading for Shared Prosperity” – in Xi’an, Shanxi Province, People’s Republic of China.

On July 30-31, 2019 the International School of Economics (ISET) at Tbilisi State University hosted the 2-day workshops on economic integration in Asia and Europe sponsored by the CAREC Institute and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), together with the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.

It is with great sadness that ISET announces an enormous loss to the institution – Mr. Roy Southworth, former Chairman and Chairman Emeritus of the ISET Governing Board, passed away on July 23. He was a most dedicated friend of the broader ISET community, an inspiring development professional, a highly generous contributor, and a brave man with a big heart.