Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili opened the 12th International Wine and Spirits Exhibition Fair WinExpo Georgia 2019.WinExpo Georgia is considered as one of the largest exhibitions in the Caucasus region, comprising all necessary  components to produce wine and alcoholic drinks:  viticulture and winemaking machinery, fertilizers, seedlings, barrels and packaging materials, accessories , including a wide range of services provided under the frame of the exhibition trade fair. Up to 160 companies from 12 countries (Georgia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey)with more than 110 wine producers, large, medium and small scale winemakers willingly participate in the exhibition. The International Exhibition is held on June 13-15 in the 11th pavilion at the exhibition center "Expo-Georgia". The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and National Wine Agency are official supporters of the WinExpo Georgia. The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Levan Davitashvili thanked organizers of the exhibition, international wine experts, entrepreneurs and representatives of small cellars for their participation and noted, that similar activities boost the popularization of Georgian wine."The scale of the exhibition, as well as the number of visitors and participant companies  is growing annually, which  once again proves the prestige of the exhibition and shows an increased interest in Georgian wine. Over the years, the wine industry is developing rapidly in the country. New wine producer companies  are established, new technologies are introduced and high quality wine is made, which is resulted in annual growth in Georgian  wine export. The international exhibition included a wine competition as well. The members of the jury embrace the most recognized wine experts and specialists throughout the world, whose opinions and assessments boost the popularization of Georgian wine in the international market " said Levan Davitashvili. The Executive Director of Expo Georgia Exhibition Center, Resan Kikava and Chairman of National Wine Agency Levan Mekhuzla delivered welcome speeches. This year, the Embassy of France and organizers of the French Wine Exhibition "The Wine & Vine Innovation Cluster" Inno'Vin "(https://innovin.fr/index.php/en/) are participating for the first time. French participants display wine accessories on their exhibition stand.  Within the exhibition, the event "Georgian Wine and UK market" will be held, where British wine professional, Tatyana Mann will share the experience, regarding British market, specificity of the market and wine import regulations.On the 13th of June, the winners of the 11th International Wine Competition will be awarded. The competition was held  on 11-12th of June under the frame of the  WinExpo Georgia 2019. Up to 300 samples of wine produced by 81 companies were presented at the competition. The jury members included Georgian wine specialists together with the international professionals:  Tim Atkin (UK), Kenichi Ohsa (Japan), Alistair Cooper (Great Britain), Marcelo Retamal, (Chile), Matthew Robert Wilkin (Great Britain), Giorgi Dakishvili , Nika Aghdgomelashvili and Mikheil Meskhi .

The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili  held a meeting with the Country Programme Manager of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Georgia, Vrej Jijyan.  At the meeting, the sides discussed Agriculture Modernization, Market Access and Resilience Project (AMMAR) funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Vrej Jijyan gave a positive assessment to the performance and progress of the  project' and highlighted  results achieved within it. Levan Davitashvili expressed sincere appreciation to the representative of IFAD for the support provided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) . The importance of the new project "The Diary Modernization and Market Access" funded by IFAD was brought forward at the meeting. The sides noted, that new project will be launched in the nearest future.The Deputy Minister Khatia Tsilosani attended the meeting held at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.

The Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Khatia Tsilosani addressed the audience and made a welcome speech at the meeting with the Steering Board of the Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy  (CEESP) and  International Union for Conservation of Nature  (IUCN). "It is a great honor for me to open the first meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature  (IUCN) in Georgia. We should mention that, environmental protection is one of the top  priority issues for our country. Moreover, the IUCN to share its experience and establish close cooperation ties with Georgian side  is of utmost importance for us "said Khatia Tsilosani. The issues related to the development of the forest sector , the importance of protected areas and conservation of biodiversity was brought forward by the Deputy Minister at the meeting.It should be noted, that the IUCN combines six thematic commissions, including Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) where more than ten thousand scientists are registered, whose activities are mainly related to the sustainable management of ecosystems, biodiversity and natural resources.

The Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Nino Tandilashvili met with the regional coordinator of the Integrated Water Resources Management Project, Marie Matthau and Project Expert Akhmed Alseud.  The project is implemented with the support of the Global Environmental Fund (GEF) and United Nations Development Program UNDP. The project was launched in 2016 and is implemented in Georgia and Azerbaijan. At the meeting, the participants were focused on the river Suramula Restoration Project. The project  aims to reduce pressure on the river and restore natural state and functioning of a river. The arrangement of the constructed wetland on the banks of the river Suramula in Khashuri municipality will enable to clean the wastewater, whereby the water pollution is coming from the village Chumateleti residents. The  project includes a plan according to which, an additional containers will be obtained and set, furthermore,  under the frame of the project the waste collection and removal will be improved in Khashuri municipality as well.

The workshop on the establishment and further development of the Water Information System (WISE) in Georgia was held at the Environmental Information and Education Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.The above mentioned system will be developed under the frame of the EU project " Implementation of the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) principles and practices in the European neighbourhood regions (ENI SEIS II East) ‘’.The participants have been focused on priority issues related to the elaboration of water information system (WISE-Georgia), distribution of functions and responsibilities between the agencies engaged in the road mapping process and water resources management.It is noteworthy, that implementation of the water resource data management system is being underway within the EU project ‘’ European Union Water Initiative Plus’’ (EUWI+ ). The participants recommended these two projects to be implemented in a coordinated manner. As a result, the optimal framework of the water information system will be developed, which will facilitate the improvement of water resources management in Georgia.The representatives of the relevant agencies of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and  Agriculture, National Statistics Office of Georgia-GEOSTAT, European Environmental Agency (EEA), European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal and Marine Waters, representatives of the " European Union Water Initiative Plus for the Eastern Partnership (EUWI+ 4 EaP) and other stakeholders attended the workshop. 

The prospects to improve living conditions of rural communities was discussed at the 21st meeting of the Standing Committee of European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD).At the meeting the Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Khatia Tsilosani thanked partner organizations for their support and provided participants with the information related to the process of merging two strategies-rural development and agricultural development strategies. The Deputy Minister drew her attention to the obligations undertaken in the 2nd and 3rd phases of ENPARD. The representative of the EU, Cristina Casella has favorably evaluated the activities implemented by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture and highlighted possibilities to launch the fourth phase of the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD).The Members of the ENPARD Consortium, representatives of international and donor organizations attended the meeting.