Between June 9-10, Mr. Labadze attended the 4th Asia Think Tank Summit in Seoul, an event jointly organized by the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), the Korea Development Institute (KDI), the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), the Civil Society Program (TTCSP) of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Asia Development Bank Institute (ADBI).

ISET PI became a member of the Georgian Alliance on Agricultural and Rural Development (GAARD) on June 9th. The GAARD was established in 2014 and includes people from the Ministry of Agriculture, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and independent experts.

On June 3 2016, a Round Table Discussion of Tea Cooperatives was held in Kutaisi. This was the third event in a series of dialogues about agriculture and rural development in Georgia organized by ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI) in partnership with CARE International, the Regional Development Association and the Georgian Farmers Association, with support from the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD).

ISET Policy Institute in cooperation with Japan Tabacco International (JTI) Georgia launched a free-of-charge training program “Leaders in Development” for policymakers, analysts, mid-level, and executives. The opening session held on May 24th welcomed the first cohort of 31 senior professionals and decision-makers coming from more than 15 public, private and non-profit organizations.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Georgian nation went through a process of rapid disinvestment and de-industrialization. It was forced to shut down industrial plants, sending scrap metal abroad, and workers into subsistence farming. Hunger has never become an issue thanks to the country’s moderate climate and good soil conditions, yet inequality and associated political pressures rapidly reached catastrophic dimensions, unleashing cycles of violence, undermining the political order, and inhibiting prospects of economic growth.