On January 31, ReforMeter and the USAID Economic Governance Program hosted a second public-private dialogue dedicated to assessing the progress of the water resource management reform. The reform assessment includes an overview of the activities outlined and executed under the new law "On Water Resources Management" that was adopted by the Parliament of Georgia on June 30, 2023.

The assessment of the progress in capital market development reform is based on the implementation of the initiatives outlined in the 2023-2028 strategy for capital market development. The objective of this strategy is to enhance access to finance through capital market instruments and to stimulate and mobilize capital for the Georgian market. The strategic vision aims for Georgia to position itself as the leading capital market in the region by 2028.

Assessing the progress of the SME Development reform (henceforth "SME reform") relates to the activities that have been implemented and are planned in accordance with the SME Development Strategy of Georgia 2021-2025. The strategy aims to restore positive trends that were present prior to the onset of the pandemic and to support the continued growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.

On December 20, ReforMeter and the USAID Economic Governance Program hosted a second public-private dialogue dedicated to assessing progress in capital market development reform. The assessment of the progress of the reform includes an overview of the activities planned and implemented within the 2023-2024 action plan of the 2023-2028 capital market development strategy.

This policy brief addresses risks tied to Russian business ownership in Georgia. The concentration of this ownership in critical sectors such as electricity and communications makes Georgia vulnerable to risks of political influence, corruption, economic manipulation, espionage, sabotage, and sanctions evasion. To minimize these risks, it is recommended to establish a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening mechanism for Russia-originating investments, acknowledge the risks in national security documents, and implement a critical infrastructure reform.