On May 24, 2018, Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) facilitated the Local Advisory Council (LAC) meeting in Mtskheta. Participants of the LAC included representatives of local civil society organizations (CSOs), SMEs and public officials of local Mayor’s offices and Sakrebulos of different municipalities of the regions as well as the staff of the Information-Consultation Centers (ICCs) operating under the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia.  LAC meeting in Mtskheta gathered 15 participants, among them 5 representatives of CSOs, 3 SMEs and 7 Public officials.    

The LAC was organized in three sessions. During the first session, LAC members identified three sub-economic sectors for Mtskheta-Mtianeti region that the participants considered most important for region’s economic development. Sub-economic sectors included: production of non-timber forest species (NTF), handicrafts and bee-keeping. Within the second session, LAC participants discussed the major problems SMEs are facing in the respective region in terms of DCFTA implementation. Among key challenges influencing SMEs activities in the region, the LAC participants noted the lack of education and qualified workforce, the lack of funds to receive the quality certifications to export products on EU single market, the lack of necessary infrastructure and access to the internet, shortcomings of irrigation system. The final session featured a discussion about the recommendations and possible measures to address the problems existing within identified prospective economic sub-sectors.   

At the end of the meeting, LAC participants nominated 2 delegates (one civil society actor and one local entrepreneur) to represent the region at the Central Advisory Council to be held in Tbilisi.