Otar Shamugia Inaugurates Conference on Sustainable Rural Development

Tbilisi: Otar Shamugia, Georgian Minister of Environment and Agriculture, inaugurated the sustainable rural development related conference. This was held under the theme “European Union and Georgia Together for Sustainable Rural Development”.

Addressing the occasion, Minister Otar Shamugia stated, “Development of rural areas and the agriculture sector of the country is one of the main priorities of the Georgian government. With the steadfast support of the European Union, we have implemented many important programs and institutional reforms.

European Union’s support is especially important today. Recently, the European Commission has issued a positive recommendation to Georgia regarding granting EU candidate status, and we are awaiting a historic decision from the European Council for full-fledged EU membership. So, it is important to plan new programmes with the EU and define future priorities of Countries that will be even more compatible with EU agricultural policy. Today’s conference will serve exactly this purpose, and I am very much sure it will contribute to the fulfilment of these tasks,”

The Minister underscored the increased rates of production and export of agro-food products in the country and also spoke on the measures taken to promote agricultural products on the world market. He also explains the programs implemented with the support of the European Union to promote farmers.

Katalin, German, Deputy Head of the Cooperation Department of the European Union Representation in Georgia, highlighted the importance of this conference and said that Georgia is on the way to integration into the EU and, on the other hand, to promote rural and agricultural development in the country is very significant.

Katalin German further added that “The European Union has received the Unified Agricultural Policy Document of the European Union for 2023. We are hopeful that Georgia will implement important reforms in order to harmonise this policy with the EU. The European Union has been supporting the development of agriculture in Georgia for several years. “We are pleased to continue our cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia.

As the head of the UN Development Program in Georgia, Daglas Webi stated, the country has already taken many important positive steps to bring Georgia’s policy closer to EU standards in the near future.

On the sidelines of the conference, Panel discussions were held with the participation of Georgian and European officials, rural development specialists and experts. The panel discussed upon elaboration of sustainable rural development policy and implementation of Georgia’s approach to the EU membership. The conference “EU and Georgia Together for Sustainable Rural Development” was organised by the Government of Georgia.