The biennial Tbilisi Silk Road Forum was held from October 22-23, an event of the utmost importance for Georgia’s economic development. With over 2,000 people in attendance, the Forum gathered together policymakers, businesses, community leaders, and academics to discuss trade and connectivity, as well as examine the challenges facing countries along the New Silk Road.

The country’s extensive mountainous regions are justly famous and a particular point of focus for travel writers and producers, but their touristic appeal is somewhat offset by the lack of development, especially when compared with the capital or other major cities. In recent years, the government has attempted to address this disparity, but a significant amount of work remains to be done.

On September 13th, over half of the staff and researchers of ISET and the ISET Policy Institute were invited to Gdansk for an annual meeting of the FREE Network, where they presented research papers and exchanged ideas with leading academics and policymakers.

Director of ISET Dr. Tamar Sulukhia, accompanied by Dr. Phatima Mamardashvili (APRC) and Dr. Yaroslava Babych (MPRC), took part in the 4th CAREC Think Tanks Development Forum – entitled “Trading for Shared Prosperity” – in Xi’an, Shanxi Province, People’s Republic of China.

The FREE Network – the Forum for Research On Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies – and the International School of Economics at TSU (ISET) and its Policy Institute, are delighted to extend a warm invitation to participate in an international conference on gender economics entitled: "Removing Obstacles to Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment".