TBILISI, 29 November 2022 - Georgia has launched its Strategic Roadmap for Sustainable Laboratory Infrastructure Development. The Strategic Roadmap for laboratory infrastructure development in Georgia provides guidance to public and private stakeholders on planning resources to enable investments to support the development of food laboratories for trade standards compliance and increased access to foreign markets.

Giorgi Khanishvili, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) stated: “The GQSP Georgia programme provided us with the opportunity to examine the challenges of establishing sustainable laboratories in Georgia. The Roadmap will play an important role in guiding the Ministry’s approach in this area of work."

The First Deputy Chair of the Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Georgia and Member of Parliament, Khatia Tsilosani, noting the commitment and support of the country’s legislative body also spoke about the importance of the GQSP in Georgia. She highlighted the important contribution of the programme in strengthening the private and state laboratories.

Danielle Meuwly, Regional Director of Cooperation of the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia recalled Switzerland’s long support to the agricultural sector in Georgia. She highlighted the Roadmap as one of the key achievements of the programme.

The GQSP which started in Giorgia in 2020 enables UNIDO to support the strengthening of the national capacities of its conformity assessment bodies (CABs). As a result of this support, the Georgia Laboratory Association (GeLab) was revamped into a knowledge centre.  The programme has helped align the country’s conformity assessment services with international standards and good practices and has supported the development of strategic guidance related to sustainable laboratory infrastructure development for the country.  The programme in Georgia also features a strong gender dimension, helping women to achieve their career goals in the field of quality and standards.

The GQSP Georgia programme is part of a wider global GQSP programme funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of Switzerland and implemented by UNIDO in close cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA). Its objectives are to strengthen the quality and standards compliance capacity of the Georgian fruit and vegetable value chain and to facilitate access to EU markets for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Project Factsheet

Value Chain Analysis of Fruits and Vegetables in Georgia

Strategic Roadmap: English Version; Georgian Version

For more information, please contact

Cong Wu,  Industrial Development Officer, Competitiveness, Quality and Compliance Unit, Division of SME Competitiveness, Quality and Job Creation
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