2
NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
SEPTEMBER 15 - 18, 2017
10th International Forum for Local Economic Development Opens in Tbilisi BY NINO GUGUNISHVILI
T
he International Forum of Local Economic Development commenced at The Biltmore Hotel, Tbilisi on Wednesday, a two-day event organized by the Tbilisi Municipality. The conference was attended by hundreds of top international speakers from USA, Austria, Germany, England, Spain, Italy, France, Moldova, Ukraine, Sweden, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Poland, Belgium, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Israel and Turkey in order to discuss topics ranging from governance, cities for economic growth, urban resilience, smart environment, energy efficiency, entrepreneurial opportunities in global trade, international relations, city tourism, open government partnerships, integrated approaches for territorial development and many other subjects. The forum was opened with welcome speeches from Courtney Fingar, Editor of FDI Magazine within the Financial Times; Tbilisi Mayor Davit Narmania; Bambang Susantono, Vice President of Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development at the Asian Development Bank (ADB); Christian Danielsson, Director General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission; Elizabeth Rood, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Georgia; Bruno Balvanera, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Regional Director for the Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus; and Grigol Liluashvili, Chairman of
Regional Policy and Self Government Committee at the Parliament of Georgia. “Part of our agreement is discovering new investment destinations and areas of the world that have potential for future development and investment,” said Courtney Fingar. “We’ve had an eye on Georgia for quite some time because of the exiting reforms that are taking place. Of course, the government places a huge priority on business reforms and improving the investment environment”. “The main focus of the forum this year is Progressive Cities: cities that aim to be sustainable, active and economically developed,” Narmania said in his opening speech, going on to talk about the many infrastructural projects realized with the financial support of international organizations such as the EBRD and ADB. Tbilisi's Mayor then thanked the guests and participants attending the event, as well as the international
Georgian Foreign Minister Participates in UNWTO 22nd General Assembly BY THEA MORRISON
M
ikheil Janelidze, Georgia’s Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister, is taking part in the 22nd General Assembly of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The event takes place on September 12-15 in Chengdu, China and gathers around 1500 delegates from 150 countries across the world. Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) reports that on the sidelines of the General Assembly, Mikheil Janelidze held a brief meeting with representatives of the Chinese Authorities. “Highlighting the importance of developing people-to-people contacts and co-operation in tourism, the Chinese side thanked the Georgian delegation for participation in the General Assembly,” the Ministry stated. The 22nd session of the General Assembly is themed “Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals: Journey to 2030”. The United Nations 70th General Assembly has designated 2017 as the
International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. The UNWTO, the United Nations Specialized Agency for Tourism, has been mandated to facilitate the organization and implementation of the International Year, in collaboration with governments, relevant organizations of the United Nations system, international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders. Janelidze described as historical the decision to appoint Georgia’s candidate to such high position. "Georgia remains committed to the mission and principles of this organization and is well aware that respect of international rules and obligations is a key for the success of every country, nation and every citizen," he said. The Georgian MFA reports that the 105th session of the UNWTO Executive Council, meeting in Madrid, Spain, on 12 May, recommended Zurab Pololikashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to Spain, as a nominee for the post of SecretaryGeneral for the four-year-period starting January 2018. The Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration Giorgi Chogovadze is also attending the General Assembly.
partners, and noted that the conference offers a platform to share experience that will benefit the development not only of Georgia’s capital, but other cities as well. Bambang Susantono, the keynote speaker, underlined the importance of resilience for cities, and went on to note the projects realized with the financial assistance of the ADB in Tbilisi and further afield in Georgia. “It is essential for cities to respond to economic change in such a fast changing world, and to inject new dynamics to sustain economic development,” Christian Danielsson said. He also underlined the importance of active municipalities and cities in order to facilitate sustainable economic development and growth, while local authorities need to engage with the private sector and with public organizations and civil society. “The United States remains committed
to Georgia and that includes our ongoing efforts to support local governance,” Elizabeth Rood told the audience. She underlined the importance of transparency, accountability and citizen participation in order to sustain a good level of local governance, noting the assistance of the United States’ Agency for International Development (USAID), which has been providing support to a number of cities in Georgia including Batumi, Kutaisi and Akhaltsikhe to introduce participatory budgeting, and to improve service delivery. “We have also seen positive effects from the efforts made in making governments more responsive. Entrepreneurship is booming in Georgia; more small businesses are operating now than ever before,” she said, further citing the assistance provided by USAID, with the opening of 10 civic engagement centers in Georgia that are used for public discus-
sions, seminars, training and outreach by municipalities, NGOs and other parties. Bruno Balvanera talked about the importance of using renewable energy for the sustainable development of cities. He stated that energy efficiency is one of the primary goals, as many years ago the EBRD started an energy efficiency plan which “has expanded and is set to become more ambitious in the future”. “Georgia is a very special country for the EBRD; it is the country with the largest investment of capital, it is the place that we see as leading in the second wave of reforming countries, after the first wave in central Europe, and clearly Georgia is leading these efforts by means of transparent elections, clear policies and priorities,” Balvanera said. “Tbilisi is one of the first cities in the EBRD area that is going to be supported in the green cities framework,” he added, highlighting that on the second day of the conference, a detailed report would be presented that the EBRD has been closely working on with Tbilisi Municipality, regarding how Tbilisi can afford medium and long-term policies to have green and sustainable development. “One of the main challenges we’re facing is the migration process from rural parts of our country to the bigger cities, and we aim to develop both the rural and urban centers equally. There are numerous projects realized in this regard, and I would like to thank our international partners for that,” said Grigol Liluashvili, pointing to the fact the forum on local economic development enables the sharing of the vast experience of the countries in attendance.
Barbecue Festival to be Held at Sairme Resort
BY TAMZIN WHITEWOOD
O
n September 16, the Sairme resort in Bagdati, Imereti, will host a Barbeque festival. For the first time in Georgia, the best Georgian chefs will showcase their talents. The specially invited jury will judge the food prepared by the participants to reveal a winner. The honorable guest of the festival and of the jury is the well-known Armenian Chef Sedrak Mamuliani, who organizes gastro-festivals and cultural events in many European countries.
The Barbeque Festival is supported by the National Tourism Administration. Within the framework of this project, the Sairme Resort will host representatives of Armenian Diaspora living in Georgia, leading tourist companies, as well as Armenian media. Participant restaurants of the Barbeque Festival include: Sami Saukune, Begheli, Tsiskvili, Sharbati, Sakhli madatovze, Dzveli Sakhli, Kolkhuri Sakhli, Mais Restaurant, Crown Palace and Mtsvadiauri. The festival participants will be judged by a special jury consisting of Jaba Tsuladze, General Director of the Sairme Resort; Koba Bazidze, Procurement
Director of Tegeta Motors; Dachi Chanadir, Food and Veberage Manager of Residential Hooling; Gia Elizbarashvili, Hotel Biltmore's F & B Assistant; Salome Chachua, Chief Specialist of Georgian Relations with Service Providers in the field of Tourism; and Sedrak Mamoulian, famous chef, head of the public organization "Development and maintenance of Armenian cuisine traditions". The Barbeque Festival will also offer entertainment at the event, which will be led by Niko Kankia. Media Partners: Where.ge, Georgia Today, Radio Fortuna, Radio Palitra, TV Company Mir, TV Company Alike Media, Newspaper Vrtan Terti, Culture House Hayartun, Ambralejoe, and Sputnik.