Estdev

Estonia has supported Georgia since 2000, and Georgia has been a priority country for Estonian bilateral development cooperation since 2006. Estonia supports Georgia’s integration with the European Union and is ready to offer assistance to facilitate the realization of the Association and Free Trade Agreement. At the end of 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs adopted the Estonia-Georgia Development Cooperation Land Strategy 2021-2024, which reflects Georgia’s needs and determines development directions and areas in which Estonia can offer added value.

Based on the plan for development cooperation and Georgia’s needs, Estonian development cooperation in Georgia focuses on the following areas for planning and implementation: strengthening democratic state structures and systems, supporting entrepreneurship, and improving the quality of education.

Since 2000, Georgia has been supported by Estonian development cooperation in the amount of nearly 14 million euros. During this period, 419 projects have been implemented in Georgia. There are currently 21 ongoing projects in Georgia.

Global Sustainable Development Goals in Georgia

Priority Areas of Estonian Development Cooperation in Georgia

• Improvement of the quality of education – adapting the higher education system to today’s needs in Georgia; updating existing and new curricula to the needs of the labor market; introduction of teacher training; updating the vocational education system to the needs of the labor market; improving the quality of education and popularising vocational education; promoting cooperation between students, teachers, and researchers, and educational institutions; improving the quality of education in general education schools; introducing modern teaching methods.
• Support for entrepreneurship – guiding the development of small businesses, including the creation of start-ups; supporting young people and small businesses in rural areas, especially through advice on how to improve product quality so that it meets the standards of the EU Free Trade Agreement.
• Strengthening of democratic state structures and systems – backing activities that promote the implementation of the EU Association Agreement and the implementation of the reform plan; strengthening the administrative capacity and transparency of state institutions through e-government and information-communication technology (ICT) in state administration, especially in regards to the involvement of civil society in governance and the shaping of reform processes; participatory democracy; participation in the building of good governance capacity; EU outreach.

Relevant Documents

• Estonian Foreign Policy Development Plan 2030
• Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Program 2022-2025 (in Estonian)
• Georgia: Needs to prevent and combat domestic violence
• Georgia: Main trends and challenges in local level media landscape
• Georgian and the EU Association Agenda: Reforms Undertaken in 2019–2020

Ongoing projects in Georgia