A Business Support Council is being set up in Rustavi as a result of the M4EG Staff Exchange Program

12 December 2019

Rustavi, Georgia, 5 December 2019,  -   A Staff Exchange mission aiming at supporting the local private sector and creating a business-friendly environment has just finished in Rustavi City Municipality. From 3 to 5 December 2019 the city hosted Jakub Kubasik, Deputy Head of the Department of City Promotion, Culture and International Cooperation of the Municipal Council of the City of Czeladź, Poland.

Mr. Kubasik had volunteered for the mission in order to share his professional experience to help create a functional cooperation platform between the business sector, educational institutions and the local public administration, which is a priority task of the city of Rustavi.

During the mission, the visiting specialist conducted a range of constructive meetings with the key stakeholders, including the Mayor of Rustavi, officials from the City Hall, representatives from the business sector, as well as from some educational institutions. As the result of the discussions, a concept of a Business Support Council as a body responsible for intersectoral cooperation was developed.

The draft concept and functions of such Council, as well as the roadmap for establishing and launching it into operation were presented to the Mayor at the end of the mission.

Mr. Kubasik noted: “Several years ago we had similar challenges, and we did not know how to address them, either. We received some advice from another European city, and now we are happy to render similar assistance to Rustavi. I assume, the issue with the lack of instruments for supporting private sector is pressing and relevant not only for Rustavi, but for other cities of Georgia as well. Hopefully, the Business Support Council in Rustavi will prove efficient as a tool for promoting local economic development in the entire country”.

Revaz Barbakadze, the Local Economic Development Officer of Rustavi, said: “It took Czeladź around 10 years to create and activate their Business Council, but it proved to be the step in the right direction. I believe that their experience and lessons learnt will help us achieve similar results within a shorter period of time. This is the reason why the program is crucial and I am very happy that we had the chance to welcome the visitor from EU country”.

Meanwhile, Zviad Archuadze, M4EG Country Coordinator for Georgia and Azerbaijan, underlined that Rustavi City Municipality has been very active and successful in conceiving and implementing innovative projects, and can serve a source of knowledge and inspiration to the other Georgian members of the M4EG Club.