Tbilisi hosts the annual conference of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), with more than 100 delegates from 50 countries participating.
The conference is organized by the Georgian Competition and Consumer Protection Agency (GCCA). Georgian Minister of Justice Paata Salia addressed participants and congratulated the agency on its important international recognition in 2026-2027.
According to the Minister of Justice, the presidency of ICPEN is not only a success for the Competition and Consumer Protection Agency of Georgia, but also international recognition of the country’s progress toward confidence and the protection of consumer rights.
Paata Salia has highlighted the importance of protecting consumer rights for the development of a modern economy. According to him, strong consumers and strong businesses aren’t competitors — on the contrary, a secure consumer builds trust, trust promotes healthy competition, and strong competition promotes investment and sustainable economic development.
He noted, “one of the main directions of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia is to create effective, fast, and reliable public services.” Our approach is simple – a citizen should not fit the state system; the state system should fit the citizen.”
“We work with businesses on the same principle. Today, entrepreneurs in the House of Justice can use the services of a personal “business assistant”, through a “prudent contract”, to make important transactions easier and to use executive and sanitary mediation services, ” he said.
The Minister also mentioned, “Today, almost 500 services of the House of Justice are available throughout Georgia, and the customer satisfaction rate is 95%. For us, it’s not just statistics — it’s a citizen’s confidence and, at the same time, a great responsibility.”
“At the same time, we continue to develop new mechanisms of digital services and digital identification to offer citizens and businesses even simpler, faster and safer services. That is why fair competition and protection of consumer rights are not just legal principles for us — they are essential for developing a modern, inclusive and citizen-oriented government,” Paata Salia said.
ICPEN’s annual conference is attended by representatives from executive government and consumer rights agencies, international organizations and experts in the field.
The conference serves to share international experience, discuss consumer protection challenges and strengthen collaboration.
