Levan Davitashvili, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, officially presented a new institutional model for the reformation of the wine sector in Georgia. This reform is expected to lead to a more sustainable development of the sector.

“For us, it is crucially important to communicate with every sector and especially with wine industry, which traditionally bears utmost priority for us. The wine industry is becoming increasingly interesting for investors, which is the indication to the correct and timely reforms undertaken recent years. Nevertheless, even more progress is needed for the industry that leads us to a new phase of development,” Davitashvili said. “Georgia has already established itself at international markets, but we want to bring fresh energy and dynamism, and thus we plan new reforms in the sector.”

Mrs. Cristina Casella, Attaché and the Programme Manager of the EU Delegation to Georgia, talked about the overall objectives and expected outcomes of the wine sector reform in Georgia which is supported by FAO under the EU-funded European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD). Last year, FAO experts developed and introduced new institutional models for the reformation of the wine sector in Georgia. The private-public partnership governance models were specifically created for Georgia. The reform is expected to lead to a better coordination among Georgian wine institutions and an overall improvement of the wine sector’s competitiveness.