Today Georgia is facing an increasing risk of brain drain. In recent years, Georgia has been experiencing a brain drain, with an increasing number of skilled professionals, young workers, and students leaving the country in search of better economic opportunities and stability. Since independence, the outmigration of Georgians has been mostly driven by economic factors – jobs, higher wages, better working conditions, and career advancement opportunities abroad.

or the past two years, Georgia has faced persistent political instability, driven by various legislative and electoral actions of the ruling party, ultimately resulting in a profound political crisis that has undermined the domestic and international legitimacy of the ruling party.

This note provides an overview of recent developments regarding Georgia’s foreign exchange Gross International Reserves (GIR), offers insights into some aspects of reserve adequacy, and central bank’s safeguards principles in the context of heightened political uncertainties. It appears that the GIR are likely inadequate to withstand prolonged political uncertainties. Furthermore, the National Bank of Georgia's (NBG) governance and regulatory frameworks are not presently equipped to counter these challenges.

The project, Development of Methodology for Child-Rights-Based Budget Analysis, funded by UNICEF, aims to create a systematic approach for analyzing public budgets in Georgia through the lens of child rights. Its objective is to ensure that public financial decisions prioritize children’s needs, promote equity, and align with international standards such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This is a working note outlining the initial processes behind the SME Test Methodology. It is a notable deliverable part of the Developing an RIA SME Test Methodology for Georgia, while strengthening the capacity of the Government of Georgia to utilize SME RIA tools in practice Project, as funded by the UNDP and led by ISET Policy Institute.